I Saw Nothing (5)
Finally!
Namgung Dowi’s eyes were taut with tension.
Strictly speaking, there might not have been any reason for him to be this nervous. Common sense said that no force in the world would dare refuse the Namgung Clan.
There was no chance of that, not one in ten thousand, but if the Namgung Clan suddenly declared today that it was switching over to the evil sects, Namgung Dowi was certain even Jang Il-so, Alliance Leader of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, would shrug off everyone’s objections and come swimming across the Yangtze River himself.
Namgung Dowi glanced over his shoulder. Just as expected, Namgung Myeong’s face was calm and confident.
Yeah. That’s how it should be, but…
Even so, Namgung Dowi could not bring himself to relax.
This was the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
From everything he had seen so far, the so-called common sense of the martial world simply did not apply here. To put it bluntly, had the Heavenly Friends Alliance ever, even once, behaved according to the rules he thought the world should follow?
“Hoo.”
Namgung Dowi let out a long breath.
He had no choice but to believe sincerity would prevail. At this point, that was the only method left to him.
“Acting Clan Leader.”
Hyun Jong called to Namgung Dowi in a calm voice. Since Namgung Dowi had not yet formally inherited the position of clan head, the title of acting clan leader was appropriate for now.
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
“First, let me confirm something. You are truly asking for the Namgung Clan to join the Heavenly Friends Alliance, are you not?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Namgung Dowi drew in a breath and spoke again.
“Then I will formally make the request once more here. The Namgung Clan is applying for full membership in the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”
“Hmm.”
Hyun Jong nodded with a grave expression.
“This may cause complications with your existing relations with the orthodox sects. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes. Our decision is firm.”
There was not the slightest wavering in Namgung Dowi’s eyes.
That was only natural. Realistically speaking, the current Namgung Clan had nowhere to stand unless it was under the Heavenly Friends Alliance. And emotionally as well, if he had to choose between the Ten Great Sects and this alliance, there was no comparison at all.
When both reason and feeling were shouting for the Heavenly Friends Alliance, what was there to hesitate over?
“May I ask why?”
“Because we have come to understand that they no longer have any righteousness left.”
Namgung Dowi swept his gaze across everyone with resolute eyes before continuing.
“My late father went to Maehwado to take responsibility for the recent tragedy on the Yangtze River, and to raise up the righteousness of the martial world that had fallen to the ground. The six characters of the Heavenly Namgung Clan cannot stand without righteousness at their foundation. That was Father’s teaching.”
“Mm.”
Dang Gun-ak closed his eyes slightly. It seemed he had much to think about when Namgung Hwang was mentioned.
“But the Nine Great Sects placed their own interests above righteousness. That is not necessarily wrong. I do not wish to condemn them for it. But!”
Determination settled over Namgung Dowi’s face.
“If Father had not died so tragically and had stood upon this land himself, he would surely have chosen to stand with the Heavenly Friends Alliance rather than the Nine Great Sects. I believe the Namgung Clan’s future should be with the Heavenly Friends Alliance, not the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Families.”
Just as Hyun Jong was about to nod, as though that alone were enough, Namgung Dowi opened his mouth again.
“And this is not merely a decision for surviving the current crisis. I also want to plant pride in the children growing up in the Namgung Clan. Pride that we are a sect that pursues righteousness, not empty justifications or profit!”
The Mount Hua disciples standing behind him nodded unconsciously.
In truth, pride was nothing. Compared to the enormous things that could be gained by pursuing profit, what use was pride, something that seemed to serve no practical purpose at all?
And yet that worthless thing made one stand a little straighter.
Shaolin could not even meet the eyes of the people from the Heavenly Friends Alliance and the Namgung Clan. It was because there was no pride in Shaolin, no dignity for the sect itself.
The Mount Hua disciples knew that pride never came from strength alone. Naturally, they could only nod in agreement.
“So I humbly beg you.”
Namgung Dowi bowed his head.
“Please accept the Namgung Clan as a member of the Heavenly Friends Alliance. We will work, and continue to work, until Your Alliance Leader’s decision proves beyond any doubt to have been the right one.”
Hyun Jong smiled gently.
Excellent.
How many days had it been since Namgung Dowi left Maehwado? No matter how remarkable a man he was, he could not possibly be untouched by the shock of losing his father and watching his retainers die by the dozens before his eyes.
And yet Namgung Dowi remained unshakably steadfast. What he spoke of now was not the past, but the future. He had survived the bitter present and was now moving toward the future of the Namgung Clan.
How could that not please him?
It was only natural to feel a swell of satisfaction when one saw a fine young talent, regardless of faction. Hyun Jong’s face, which had been set in stone ever since he arrived at the Yangtze River, finally softened into a bright expression.
“What do the rest of you think?”
Even his voice carried that satisfaction. Seeing Hyun Jong so pleased, Dang Gun-ak smiled faintly.
“It seems Alliance Leader has already made up his mind, so how could my opinion help much?”
“If you put it that way, I’m the one who feels awkward.”
At Dang Gun-ak’s words, Hyun Jong turned to him with a smile and then looked toward Namgung Dowi.
“There is no reason to refuse. The Namgung Clan is a sect we ought to have lowered our heads and begged to join us first.”
“Indeed.”
“If such a sect makes a request, how could any force in the world turn it down? I approve.”
Hyun Jong nodded with obvious delight.
“Does anyone else object?”
“No.”
One after another, they answered as if they had agreed in advance. None of them had any particular grievance against the Namgung Clan, so of course it was natural. From the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s perspective, accepting the Namgung Clan and expanding their strength could hardly be a bad thing.
Even if one coldly judged it by gain and loss alone, this was a tremendous profit.
The Namgung Clan’s strength had been greatly reduced, but it was still the Namgung Clan. It was not a force ordinary sects could dare contend against. The words “leader among the Five Great Families” were not an empty boast won by chance.
“This matter cannot be decided by our opinions alone, but I do not think the other sect heads from the outer regions would object either. So, using the authority of the Alliance Leader, the Namgung Clan’s admission….”
“No!”
“…is….”
Hyun Jong, who had been about to grant the membership in high spirits, flinched and turned toward the source of the protest.
Im So-byeong, who always waved his fan with an easy smile, now glared at everyone with a ferocious face.
“G-Green Forest King….”
“I will never allow it—not while I still have dirt in my eyes!”
“Uh….”
“How can there be such a thing in this world! I absolutely cannot stand for this….”
Bang!
Cheong Myeong kicked Im So-byeong without warning and rolled his eyes.
“And who the hell told you to open your mouth? You think this is some place for evil bastards to run wild?”
Struck in the side, Im So-byeong tumbled across the floor, but he didn’t so much as wilt. He snapped his head up immediately.
“No! This is just too much, isn’t it? Seriously, what has the Namgung Clan ever done for the Heavenly Friends Alliance? Those bastards were just lazing around in Anhui, and when the evil sects beat the crap out of them and they started having a hard time, they came sneaking under the eaves of the Heavenly Friends Alliance, didn’t they?”
Im So-byeong’s eyes spit ghostfire. His fury was so intense that even Hyun Jong, let alone Dang Gun-ak, visibly jolted.
Unfortunately for him, there was one man here who did not give a damn about Im So-byeong’s glare.
Cheong Myeong stared at the Green Forest King for a moment, then jabbed two fingers straight into his eyes.
“Agh!”
Im So-byeong clutched at his eyes and fell backward. At the same time, everyone else involuntarily grimaced and covered their own eyes.
“Who the hell are you glaring at, you evil sect bastard? I’ll gouge those eyes out!”
“K-Khh!”
Even as tears streamed from the pierced eye, Im So-byeong glared at Hyun Jong with a look of bitter resentment. There was no point in saying anything to Cheong Myeong anyway, so he had decided to cling to someone he could reason with.
“I mean, fine, we’re evil sects! But for the last three years, haven’t we worked like dogs? If you told us to carry supplies, we carried supplies! If you told us to carry people, we carried people! If you told us to guard, we guarded!”
As Im So-byeong’s voice grew louder, Hyun Jong seemed to shrink a little more with every word.
“We’ve been dragged around for a full three years, for heaven’s sake! Huh? And now you’re letting the Namgung Clan join the Heavenly Friends Alliance? We still haven’t even been officially admitted yet! How can you approve the Namgung Clan’s membership and leave us out?”
“…….”
Hyun Jong had no retort, not even if he had ten mouths.
If one thought about it honestly, over the last three years… no, even before that. Mount Hua had exploited the Green Forest to the hilt. Hardly any evil sect or merchant would have been able to squeeze and use a force this thoroughly and shamelessly.
Of course, all of that had actually been done by Cheong Myeong rather than by Mount Hua itself, but since Cheong Myeong belonged to Mount Hua, the blame belonged to Mount Hua as well.
“People need to have a conscience!”
Im So-byeong shouted in outrage. And this time, the answer came not from Hyun Jong but from Cheong Myeong.
“Ah, then be righteous if you’re so pissed off. You bastard! Who told you to be evil in the first place?”
Normally Im So-byeong would have shut his mouth at that, but today he looked as though he couldn’t see a thing and barked back at full volume.
“And what exactly am I supposed to do about being born with the Green Forest King as my father? What the hell am I meant to do about that? Should I say, ‘Aigoo, please revoke it, I’d like to be reborn’? Can you even begin to understand how it feels to be born with an evil sect leader for a father?”
“How would I know? I’m an orphan.”
“……Ah, then of course you wouldn’t know.”
Im So-byeong nodded as if he accepted that completely.
While everyone stared at the scene in dumbfounded silence, he spoke again.
“I wanted to be born to a proper family too, take the civil service exams, and enter officialdom! But how am I supposed to clean up my background when my father is a bandit chief? I was born like this—what am I supposed to do, just give up? If someone tries to live right despite being born this way, shouldn’t you help them out a little? How can you look down on people just because of where they came from?”
“…….”
“Abolish discrimination against evil sects! Down with that corrupt Alliance Leader….”
Thwack!
That went too far, apparently, because Cheong Myeong slapped Im So-byeong across the face.
“No, this bastard just keeps crossing the line the second he sounds even a little convincing! Fine, you want to die today? I’ll kill you!”
“W-wait, stop it, Cheong Myeong.”
Hyun Jong hurriedly tried to restrain him, thinking the sight was too pitiful to bear.
“C-Cough.”
Dang Gun-ak also covered his mouth with his fist in embarrassment and coughed several times.
“In truth… what the Green Forest King said… is not entirely wrong….”
The Mount Hua disciples also looked up at the ceiling and pretended not to hear. Their embarrassment was written all over their faces.
“But still….”
With a slightly flushed face, Hyun Jong addressed Im So-byeong.
“I understood the Green Forest King’s point well enough. And we also know that, by right and by reason, the Green Forest should now be accepted into the Heavenly Friends Alliance.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“However….”
A troubled, awkward expression flickered across Hyun Jong’s face.
“At the moment, the Nine Great Sects are trying to paint us as having colluded with evil sects, so it is not easy to approve your admission right now. How about handling it after things have quieted down a little? Please understand.”
“Ah, so you’re saying it’ll be approved later?”
“Yes. That would be the idea.”
Come to think of it, it was entirely reasonable.
The Green Forest’s admission would give Beop Jeong a wonderful card to use if he wanted to connect the Heavenly Friends Alliance with the evil sects by any means possible. There was no way Im So-byeong, whose mind worked so brilliantly, couldn’t understand that much.
But then.
He rummaged in his robes, pulled out a sheet of paper, and unfolded it with a flourish. Then he held it straight out toward Hyun Jong.
“What is this?”
“A pledge.”
“A-p-pledge?”
“Yes. A written pledge that the Green Forest will be accepted into the Heavenly Friends Alliance! And that it will be publicly announced within a year!”
“…….”
Hyun Jong stared at the pledge with trembling eyes. The print was so tiny and packed so densely that it was almost painful to look at.
“G-Green Forest King?”
“Put your seal on it.”
“…….”
“Right now!”
“…….”
And so, at the very meeting where the Namgung Clan’s admission was approved, the Green Forest’s admission was also approved.
It all ended with a faint, lingering unease and a rather unpleasant aftertaste.