I Saw Nothing (4)
Among the strangers seated in the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s meeting hall, Namgung Dowi was not the only one who stood out.
'Is it really okay for me to be here?'
Jao-gae scratched the back of his head with an awkward look on his face.
The reason he had followed them this far was simple enough. He had already declared that he would leave on his own, which meant he couldn’t exactly go back to the Beggars’ Sect, and staying where everyone could see him looked even worse.
So he had planned to loiter here for a while and, once things started to feel uncomfortable, quietly slip away and figure out somewhere else to go.
That was, until he received a direct message this morning.
The letter that came flying straight to him contained only a short line: Stay put there. It was stamped with the Beggars’ Sect master’s seal.
'Damn it.'
Jao-gae muttered under his breath.
'That bastard’s lying in a sickbed and he’s still quick on the draw.'
Of course, he was no longer a member of the Beggars’ Sect, but even so, he couldn’t simply ignore the sect leader’s order. By rights, when an elder left the sect, they were supposed to cripple their own martial arts. That was the basic courtesy. If he wanted to leave open the possibility of sneaking back later, then for now he had no choice but to lie flat and take it.
That part, at least, was fine. Even if it was a little awkward, it was still within the bounds of common sense.
The real problem came after that.
'So why the hell am I here!'
Wasn’t this the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s meeting? Then why was he sitting here when he wasn’t even part of the Heavenly Friends Alliance anymore, and wasn’t even part of the Beggars’ Sect either?
He had simply come because the Alliance Leader called for him, and sat down because he was told to. Then the others had come flooding in one after another, and somehow it had turned into this mess.
What was even stranger was that none of these people seemed to think his presence was odd.
'Is this really fine?'
This was the Heavenly Friends Alliance, wasn’t it? The Heavenly Friends Alliance!
At the very least, it was now one of the top three major powers in the martial world—no, top four at the absolute worst. Was it really okay for a meeting of such a force to be conducted like this?
“The first thing we need to check is…….”
At that moment, Hyun Jong opened his mouth. Jao-gae immediately shoved all his doubts aside and listened closely.
“What the Nine Great Sects are doing right now while they’re at the Yangtze River.”
Right.
Jao-gae nodded before he even realized it.
They had just clashed with the Nine Great Sects, so of course that was the first thing they needed to check. The Mount Hua Sect Leader had clearly hit the nail on the head.
“Has anyone, by any chance, confirmed anything?”
“……”
“……”
A strange silence fell over the main hall.
Every time Hyun Jong looked around, everyone either averted their eyes or stared back with innocent, shining expressions that plainly said, Don’t look at me. I know nothing about this!
“……No one has?”
“Ahem.”
Dang Gun-ak coughed awkwardly, his face turning red.
“The Alliance Leader withdrew so forcefully that it’s not easy to go show our faces at the riverbank again.”
“……That is true, but…….”
By then, Jao-gae’s mind was nearly going blank.
A normal meeting of the Nine Great Sects was like this: regardless of the matter at hand, everyone put on proper formality, maintained their dignity, and beneath the surface, each side’s pride clashed fiercely.
Wasn’t a Nine Great Sects meeting basically a duel of words, where soft language hid razor-sharp intent?
And yet this meeting was, how should he put it…….
'I’d call it rough-and-ready, or maybe just human.'
No, maybe it was both. Perhaps it was so human that it ended up looking rough-and-ready.
“So…… uh…… nobody knows what the Nine Great Sects are doing right now?”
“Should we send someone to check now?”
“……Wouldn’t that be a little awkward?”
“It would be, yes.”
This was the conversation between Hyun Jong and Dang Gun-ak—the first and second men of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, the very force that had turned the current martial world upside down.
'Is this place really okay?'
When Hyun Jong had ordered the advance to Maehwado, he had definitely made even Jao-gae—who had seen every wind and wave there was—feel his heart pounding…….
Just then, Cheong Myeong, who had been stomping Im So-byeong into the ground without mercy, snapped his head around.
“Why are you idiots talking about something like that among yourselves? There’s an old beggar over there.”
The moment he finished speaking, everyone’s gaze shot toward Jao-gae.
Under the scorching, pricking stares, Jao-gae coughed dryly over and over, as if he’d swallowed dust.
“But isn’t that man supposed to have left the Beggars’ Sect?” Baek Cheon asked, and Cheong Myeong snorted.
“Left the Beggars’ Sect?”
“That’s what I heard.”
“Then why have all those beggar bastards been snooping around here since before dawn?”
“Huh?”
Cheong Myeong rolled his neck left and right.
“I thought they’d been sent by the Beggars’ Sect to deliver information…… Wait, were they here to steal ours instead?”
He smiled brightly and stared straight at Jao-gae.
“Right?”
“……”
Jao-gae’s body trembled.
Mount Hua Divine Dragon.
The sect in this world that knew Cheong Myeong best was obviously Mount Hua. But the place with the worst reputation of Cheong Myeong in all the world was not Mount Hua—it was the Beggars’ Sect.
How many years had it been since the beggars of Hwaeom, who dealt with Mount Hua, had poured out their resentment and sorrow to the world, making every beggar in the land weep with them?
Cold sweat seeped down Jao-gae’s back.
'What did Hong Dae-gwang say again?'
A great demon wearing the mask of orthodoxy? A grand figure of the evil path who had simply chosen the wrong side? Or was it that if he had thrown himself into the evil path, he would have become a legend spoken of for five hundred years, but instead he picked the wrong sect and ended up arranging flowers with a sword?
“Why aren’t you answering?”
What was etched most sharply into Jao-gae’s memory was this line:
“That bastard doesn’t respect old people—he attacks them. Young or old, man or woman, he doesn’t discriminate. Don’t waste time worrying about face in front of him; you’ll end up with blood on your forehead and regret it later. Just stay away from him.”
At that moment, Jao-gae realized exactly what he needed to say.
“Ahem, young hero.”
“……Yes?”
He looked at Cheong Myeong with great solemnity and spoke.
“Though I have no sect now, I was once an elder of the Beggars’ Sect. That means that even if I’ve left the sect, my seniority does not simply vanish. I am still an elder of the Beggars’ Sect, and you are a third-generation disciple of Mount Hua, are you not?”
Cheong Myeong cracked his neck left and right.
Crack. Crack.
Then he smiled faintly and asked, “So?”
“So!”
Blue light seemed to flare from Jao-gae’s eyes.
“I know plenty of things. Ask me anything! I’ll tell you all of it!”
“……”
Prides like that were a luxury beggars could never afford.
“Right now, the Nine Sects are still not withdrawing from the Yangtze River riverbank.”
“……Why not?”
“Well. It’s a little complicated.”
Jao-gae scratched his head roughly.
“There are many reasons, but the two main ones seem to be these. First, the Water Bandits and the Myriad Man Sect haven’t pulled back yet. The Water Bandits are still maintaining their fleet on the Yangtze, and the disciples of the Myriad Man Sect have disembarked but are still stationed at the riverbank, as if they might march north at any moment.”
“Hmm.”
Hyun Jong nodded heavily.
“So Shaolin likely can’t retreat easily either. The Jiangnan Non-Aggression Treaty hasn’t expired yet, so they can’t cross into Jiangnan. But if they pull back now, the Myriad Man Sect might take advantage and move north, wouldn’t they?”
At those words, Cheong Myeong let out a snort.
“Tch. That bastard really is vicious.”
When you’re wounded, it’s best to treat the injury as quickly as possible. That applied whether the wound was on the body or in the heart. A wound left untreated long enough would fester and leave a deep scar.
Jang Il-so seemed to be intending to keep Shaolin pinned down a little longer, letting their wounds on the riverbank rot a little more.
“The second reason is that they have no pretext for retreating.”
“No pretext, you say?”
“Yes. Alliance Leader. This is…… well, I’m not sure if I should even be saying this, but the Shaolin abbot…….”
“The abbot did what?”
Cheong Myeong’s eyes started to swing again, and Jao-gae hurriedly corrected himself.
“That ab……bot bastard.”
Cheong Myeong nodded with obvious satisfaction.
“Anyway, before he came here, the abbot issued a general summons to the entire Nine Great Sects. But only a handful of sects responded.”
“Of course. That’s why they came to us for help.”
“It means their authority has already fallen as low as it can go. But in that state, if they go all the way to the Yangtze and gain nothing…… no, if they return to Shaolin having literally done nothing at all, what happens to their prestige?”
“……Hmm.”
Jao-gae continued with a bitter expression.
“Shaolin may no longer be able to call itself the Big Dipper of the Nine Great Sects. After all, a leader only has the right to claim that title when its authority still carries real weight.”
“I understand what you mean.”
Jao-gae nodded at Hyun Jong.
“I suspect the Nine Great Sects won’t leave this riverbank until the Myriad Man Sect pulls out first. By now, the Peng Clan has probably joined them as well, which only makes it more likely.”
“Hmm.”
Hyun Jong let out a low groan. It sounded as though the battle was over, but the war itself still raged on.
“Thank you, Jao-gae.”
“Not at all. I heard that in the Heavenly Friends Alliance, everyone has to earn their keep. I suppose I should pay back the meals I’ve eaten too.”
Jao-gae smiled faintly and closed his mouth, as if his part was done.
Hyun Jong turned to Dang Gun-ak.
“Clan Head Dang.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“What should we do?”
Dang Gun-ak considered it for a moment, stroking his chin, then said, “In truth, we have no choice at the moment.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“There are too many seriously injured people in the Namgung Clan. They’ve only just stabilized, and if we move them in a hurry, their wounds will reopen and split apart again. At that point, not even the Great Immortal of Medicine could save them.”
“Ah…….”
“At the very least, our Tang Family needs to treat them here. That means we’ll need at least five more days before we can move properly. So for now, it would be best to treat the patients and watch things carefully.”
Hyun Jong nodded vigorously.
“Thank you for your wise counsel.”
“You are too kind.”
Then Hyun Jong looked around at the others.
“Our original purpose in going to Maehwado was to rescue the Namgung Clan, so let us remain here until they are able to move under their own power.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“But!”
Hyun Jong glared fiercely. Naturally, when he did so, there was only one person in the world he was looking at.
“You are absolutely not allowed outside this estate! Do you understand?”
“Ah, why!”
“Why? Why? Are you asking because you don’t know? The Nine Great Sects are camped right out there. If you go outside, do you think they’ll just sit there and do nothing?”
“I’m not a child or anything…….”
The instant Cheong Myeong began to grumble, everyone who knew him smiled faintly.
“You’d be better as a child.”
“Exactly. Much better.”
“At least children don’t stick swords into a monk’s head.”
“Hey, what the hell is wrong with you people?”
Hyun Jong looked at Cheong Myeong with obvious distrust, then turned to Baek Cheon. His expression softened at once, warm and gentle as spring water.
“Wow. Look at that discrimination based on eye contact!”
“Shut up, you brat!”
Having once again demonstrated his dramatic ability to change his expression, Hyun Jong earnestly instructed Baek Cheon.
“Keep a close eye on this brat so he doesn’t leave the estate.”
“……At the very least, you’ll need to let Yu-sahyeong, Baek Sang, Yoon Jong, Jo Geol, and So-so stay with him.”
“I’ll even add Un Geom.”
“That should be possible.”
“No, I said I’m not leaving!”
“I said shut up!”
Cheong Myeong’s mouth stuck out at least three more feet.
Hyun Jong gave him a sidelong glance that was filled with an extraordinary, intense, deeply suspicious lack of trust, clicked his tongue, and then composed himself once more.
“And next…….”
This time, Hyun Jong’s gaze fell on Namgung Dowi.
Namgung Dowi, who had been watching the entire scene with a stunned expression as Cheong Myeong was scolded, straightened in alarm.
At last, the most important words came from Hyun Jong’s mouth.
“We need to discuss the Namgung Clan’s admission into the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”
Namgung Dowi swallowed dryly as tension crawled up through his entire body.