Resolving the Conflict (2)
"What?!"
The first thing Seok Geum-ryong, the Golden Young Master, felt when he checked the message was anger.
But anger was volatile; given a little time, it quickly evaporated, and what remained was surprise as Lord Seok Ji-sung's words proved exactly right.
As expected of Father.
He could not ignore a merchant's experience, and he was astonished all over again by his father's uncanny eye for prediction.
"Butler Gong. What information do we have on Salui-dang?"
Seok Geum-ryong immediately became curious about Salui-dang.
So, the moment he received the message, he had already sent an inquiry to the Hebei branch of the Hao Clan.
"Yes. Their roots lie in the western martial world, in a terrifying group based in the desert called Daesalmak. At some point, one faction split away and headed east instead, and that faction became Salui-dang."
Ohhh!
At the name Daesalmak, several of the attendants were visibly startled.
And no wonder. Daesalmak was known in the western martial world as a nightmare, the most formidable assassin organization there was.
It was said in the western desert that neither a sandstorm nor Daesalmak's assassins could be stopped. How often had that saying been repeated?
"Though they were apparently pushed out after losing out in competition with Daesalmak, their total number is said to be only about thirty to forty... almost exactly the same as the Nine Yin Association."
"Hmm."
Seok Geum-ryong was surprised to hear that their forces were far larger and more dangerous than he had expected.
But his mind did not change.
I still remember the temperament and bold courage that Yin-Extending Sword Cho So-yeon showed at the Hebei Exchange Conference.
He did not want to believe that the Nine Yin Association, which possessed such outstanding talent, and an unorthodox sect that had shown Seokga Manor a moderate gaze, would fall.
"The Hao Clan also says Salui-dang does not want to clash with Seokga Manor. They say that if we simply promise not to sell weapons or armor to the Nine Yin Association and carry that out... they would become friends, not enemies, and even protect members of Seokga Manor if they happened to meet us on the road."
But from any objective standpoint, Salui-dang clearly held the advantage, and they were even making an offer of peace to Seokga Manor.
So if one judged coldly, the wise move would be to abandon the Nine Yin Association and join hands with Salui-dang.
"What will you do?"
Gong Sang-pil asked.
In his own mind, Salui-dang was the more attractive option, but he did not force the issue.
For him, the right answer was not the one he had reached, but the one Seok Geum-ryong would reach.
"No matter how I think about it... I believe the Nine Yin Association is the answer."
Seok Geum-ryong said after long consideration.
This was by no means a choice made at the bidding of emotion.
If the Nine Yin Association and Cho So-yeon truly became a burden to Seokga Manor, Seok Geum-ryong was the sort of man who would cut them down without hesitation.
"May I ask why you think so?"
Im So-gun, the Moon Spirit Swordswoman, was also curious.
"First, no matter how I look at it, I don't think I could ever keep close to people who would send a threatening message to someone they have never even met."
That was Seok Geum-ryong's first reason for choosing the Nine Yin Association over Salui-dang.
It was exactly this.
"Anyone who bullies and threatens others for the sake of their own gain and safety will eventually betray you."
Seok Geum-ryong was right.
For example, unlike the threatening letter sent by Salui-dang, the Nine Yin Association had merely hoped he would understand their circumstances and had not sent even a single request, much less a demand.
They had done so because they feared causing Seok Geum-ryong any burden or discomfort.
That was why Seok Geum-ryong favored the Nine Yin Association, which showed consideration.
"And second. The Nine Yin Association may be an unorthodox sect, but it's a quiet one, a place that has lived out in the wilderness and never treated others lightly or taken a life carelessly. Compared to that, Salui-dang are assassins who will kill not only strangers they've never met, but even your own family, if you put silver or gold in their hands."
Seok Geum-ryong was not a great talker, but it was clear he was an eloquent man who knew how to convey his sincerity.
By the time he finished speaking, most of those listening had already been persuaded and were nodding along.
"Finally... the Nine Yin Association has been settled in Hebei for well over a hundred years, while Salui-dang are only just coming over. No matter how much this is a world where people move according to profit, isn't it only natural to help the Nine Yin Association, with whom we've exchanged business for a century and at least know by face?"
By the time Seok Geum-ryong gave his final reason, there was not a single person left who objected.
At this point, there was only one thing Seok Geum-ryong and Bukcheon-won's leadership could do.
"They'll threaten me if I help the Nine Yin Association and sell them weapons?"
Seok Geum-ryong smiled brightly, as if he still found the whole thing absurd.
"Then we should give them a proper warning. We should make it clear what happens when they dare threaten me or turn themselves into my enemy."
That was the conclusion Seok Geum-ryong, the Golden Young Master, had reached while selling weapons.
Then only one thing remained.
He would move forward like a rhinoceros, steadfast and unbending, with full confidence that the conclusion he had reached was the correct answer.
* * *
On a certain low mountain in eastern Hebei, where a fierce battle was raging.
There, someone had come bearing desperate news.
"Sect Leader! The troops at the head of the front line have broken and are pulling back for now!"
She was none other than Cho So-yeon, the Yin-Extending Sword, the greatest rising talent of the Nine Yin Association.
As the woman widely called a candidate for the next sect leader, she had won high expectations from many in the association, but today she was on the verge of tears.
"Salui-dang's strength is truly no joke. Was there no other help nearby?"
Song Nan-hyang, the Nine Yin Witch, the leader of the Nine Yin Association and now a woman with graying hair scattered thickly through it, asked as if she were clutching at a passing sparrow's leg.
Unfortunately, the Nine Yin Association was a sect with a strongly independent bent, not least because it was a sect that forbade men.
They had tried asking for help through various unorthodox alliances, including the Dark Heaven Alliance, but...
"No, there wasn't."
All that came back was cold indifference.
How can this be!
Song Nan-hyang, deeply shocked by the news, fell silent.
Even if this was a crisis in the nick of time, they had not yet crossed the ridge; and yet they were being ignored already.
Only now did she truly understand why the martial world was called cold and ruthless.
"What happened to the weapons and armor Seokga Manor's Bukcheon-won said it would purchase?"
After one bad report after another, Song Nan-hyang looked somewhat deflated.
Salui-dang had cunningly launched a cowardly surprise attack on the Nine Yin Association, and the first place they had targeted was none other than the armory.
No matter how superb the Nine Yin Association's swordsmanship and martial arts were, the fact that their weapons had also vanished in the dead of night had tilted the battle sharply against them and created the current hard fight.
"Fortunately, the Golden Young Master, Lord Seok Geum-ryong, said he understood the conditions for later payment and would still proceed with the purchase... but according to my information network, Salui-dang has raised a protest."
"Raised a protest?"
"Yes. They sent a message to Lord Seok Geum-ryong saying that if he sold weapons to our Nine Yin Association, or even offered the slightest support, they would consider him an enemy."
"Damn it!"
Even the one last piece of hopeful news, the procurement of weapons, had turned to ash. Song Nan-hyang's anger surged more violently than ever as she clenched her fist.
Salui-dang were vicious assassins who had weathered every storm the world could throw at them.
By comparison, Golden Young Master Seok Geum-ryong is said to be a genius among geniuses, but he is still young. Professional assassins have threatened him, so right now he must be trembling under his blanket.
By now, Seok Geum-ryong's martial skill and courage had become widely known within Hebei, but Song Nan-hyang did not know him well.
She had only heard praise through Cho So-yeon.
And so she assumed that Seok Geum-ryong, frightened, would break his promise to sell them weapons.
"Not only that... Salui-dang has decided to strangle our Nine Yin Association for good."
Having delivered so many unpleasant reports to her sect leader, Cho So-yeon looked terrible as well.
"Strangle us? What do you mean?"
"I heard they are using every connection and threat they can to block us from securing food and even drinking water, after already cutting off our weapons."
That was it.
Salui-dang were assassins who thought about how to kill people efficiently, and now they had decided to slowly build the net around them and suffocate them to death.
"Ah, heavens above! Does the history of our Nine Yin Association truly end here?"
Song Nan-hyang was genuinely despondent.
At the moment, they were merely being pushed back in a full-scale conflict, but if they could not secure weapons and, further down the line, found their food and water blocked according to Salui-dang's strategy, then it would not be an exaggeration to call it the end of the Nine Yin Association.
And as if that were not enough, there was one more blow.
"Sect Leader! Salui-dang's advance troops have finally occupied the entrance to our Nine Yin Association!"
The news they most did not want to hear had arrived far earlier than expected.
Previously, Salui-dang and the Nine Yin Association had each sent advance forces into battle once, and the result had been the Nine Yin Association's defeat.
So the Nine Yin Association's advance forces had dispersed, scattering in every direction to avoid the worst possible outcome, annihilation, and to live for another day.
Meanwhile, Salui-dang, having won a resounding victory in direct combat between the advance units, advanced again with their morale soaring to the heavens.
The advance force should have stopped them, but since they had scattered, there was no way to even confirm whether the others were alive.
"Warriors of the Nine Yin Association, all of you, take up weapons. If you have no weapons, then take up farm tools or tableware."
Having lived self-sufficiently on this nameless mountain, they had plenty of farming tools at hand.
With the desperate resolve of making do with whatever they had, the female experts of the Nine Yin Association each picked up something sharp.
The sight was so pitiful that some were already in tears.
"Who dares cry already? The Nine Yin Association has not yet fallen. Though the entrance has been taken... I am still here, and So-yeon is still here. This is no time to weep!"
Song Nan-hyang, the sect leader of the Nine Yin Association, stern at times and warm at others, rallied her followers and formed a defensive line.
The Nine Yin Association was a small, elite force, and once the entrance was breached, the enemy would no doubt come straight to the sect leader's chambers here.
Even if today is the last day of the Nine Yin Association... I will never, ever die quietly.
Click.
Song Nan-hyang gritted her teeth so hard her jaw ached, her expression fiercer than ever.
As she thought, not only the sect leader but every warrior of the Nine Yin Association was prepared to perish together with the enemy.
After all, this was a sect formed by children and women whom the world had abandoned, those with nowhere else to go.
That was why they felt such deep gratitude toward Song Nan-hyang, their sect leader and great mother, and why they were even willing to die alongside her.
"Come now, let's kill one more vile enemy before we go!"
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
"That's right, Great Mother!"
As the female experts prepared for their final stand, shedding tears, it happened.
Swish.
Firm footsteps sounded even into this sect leader's chamber, a place where men were forbidden.
There was no doubt those footsteps belonged to a man, not a woman.
Gulp.
At last, the sound of a man's footsteps reached them, and Song Nan-hyang, Cho So-yeon, and the experts of the Nine Yin Association all held their breath, waiting only for the moment to strike.
"Sect Leader of the Nine Yin Association! Lady Cho So-yeon! Are you there?! The thing is... I am Seok Geum-ryong, the Golden Young Master from Seokga Manor's Bukcheon-won!"
Just as they expected rough assassins or vile enemies to come bursting in, what rang across the cold, silent earth instead was Seok Geum-ryong's earnest voice.