Red Dragon Band (3)
Thud.
The final strike drove into his skull, and the Red Dragon Band Chief toppled over with his eyes rolled white. Even a body that had achieved sword-and-blade invulnerability could not fully absorb the shock driven straight into his head.
With their chief defeated, unrest rippled through the water bandits.
“Th-the chief lost?!”
“He swore he wouldn’t lose to anyone who only used internal energy!”
“Damn it, run! Just run!”
“Where the hell are we supposed to run to?!”
“How should I know! Any direction—just get out of here!”
The warriors of the Red Dragon Band lost all will to fight the moment their leader fell and chose flight instead. These were men who had already elected to flee under the chief’s command; the choice was almost inevitable. Cheonhwa and the other four, however, had no intention of simply watching them go. Before long, not a single Red Dragon Band warrior remained standing—every last one of them lay sprawled across the ground.
“When I first heard they’d fled along the waterways, I had no idea how we’d catch them. Once we actually clashed, though, they were manageable.”
“They knew their own strength was lacking, which is precisely why they ran, is it not? Had they been confident, they would have stayed and fought rather than fled.”
“That’s part of it, but they also spent days being worn down by Yongwang. That attrition played a role.”
Myeonghwa shrugged at how anticlimactically the fight had ended. Yeobhwa pointed out that the Red Dragon Band, chief aside, had never been all that strong. Jeokhwa noted that the band had already been weakened, and that Yongwang had contributed to that decline. Yeonhwa was still steadying her breath and dispersing the residual cold of her Hyeoncheon-jingi when she noticed Cheonhwa staring fixedly in one direction.
“Cheonhwa, what’s wrong?”
“There’s a presence approaching from that way.”
Through the Six Harmony Sensory Path, Cheonhwa reported the approaching aura. The party’s gazes turned as one toward the direction he indicated—toward the village pier. Uncertain what was coming, they kept their guard up.
Moments later the owner of that presence revealed himself.
“Ho? I came to lend a hand just in case, but it looks like I didn’t need to bother.”
It was none other than Yongwang, leading his subordinates. He claimed he had come to help, yet his real intent—arriving after everything was already finished to take credit—was plain as day.
“I gave you the chance I promised. This much should be enough to earn a little trust, shouldn’t it?”
“Yes. I acknowledge it. Thanks to you, we were able to suppress the Red Dragon Band with far less difficulty. You have my thanks.”
Cheonhwa bowed his head in gratitude. Yongwang’s words and actions were suspicious in many respects, yet it was equally true that his assistance had made the purge possible. Whatever his hidden motives, receiving help and then failing to thank him would have been a failure of basic courtesy.
Yongwang had clearly not expected Cheonhwa to bow so readily. Surprise flickered across his previously relaxed face.
“……I never thought I’d actually hear a thank-you. At this rate I can’t even put on airs.”
He scratched his head as though the situation were awkward.
“Still, glad you’re looking at it kindly. It’d be even better if you put in a good word with the higher-ups.”
“I will send word to the main mountain. I cannot give you a firm answer, however. It will depend on the outcome of the elders’ council.”
“Even a senior among the third-generation disciples doesn’t hold that kind of authority—I know that much. Just leaving a good impression with the Zhongnan Sect is profit enough for me.”
Yongwang swept his gaze around the area and spoke again.
“If you don’t mind, will you leave the cleanup of these fellows to us?”
He pointed to the Red Dragon Band warriors scattered across the ground. Most of them were already dead, but a few still clung to life.
“Why go out of your way to handle the disposal?”
“The dead I’ll bury properly enough. The living I mean to interrogate and wring for information.”
“In that case, once the interrogations are finished, please turn them over to the Hao Clan. There may be more that can still be extracted.”
“That much isn’t hard. Anything else you’re curious about?”
“As it happens, there is one thing I wished to ask.”
“What is it? If it’s something I can answer, I’ll tell you.”
“The Red Dragon Band Chief called you a coward. Do you have any idea why?”
Yongwang’s expression twisted for an instant. The change vanished almost at once, but Cheonhwa, confirming it through the Six Harmony Sensory Path, was certain something lay behind it. Yongwang clearly disliked the topic and hastily changed the subject.
“Who knows? I’m pretty good at running away, so maybe that’s it? More importantly—if you’re heading back, shall I give you a lift as far as Ankang?”
“Would that truly be all right?”
“You’re valued guests carrying good news for me. Why wouldn’t it be? Or do you still not trust me enough?”
“To be honest—yes. That’s correct.”
“You’re too honest!”
Yongwang burst into a cackle at Cheonhwa’s reply.
“Still, straight talk is more refreshing than beating around the bush. Fine. When word comes, pass it along through the Hao Clan.”
With that, he led his men toward the pier. The way he turned and left without lingering suggested Cheonhwa’s attitude had rather pleased him.
“He’s more open-handed—or maybe just lighter in temperament—than I expected.”
“Yeah. He’s a lot like Myeonghwa.”
“He does give off a bit of that chatterbox vibe.”
“I cannot deny it.”
Myeonghwa’s assessment of Yongwang drew a comment from each of the other three in turn. Myeonghwa, who had not expected to be used as the example, immediately protested his innocence.
“Hey, I talk a lot, sure, but I don’t have that sly look on my face! Cheonhwa, back me up here!”
“Yes. Senior Brother Myeonghwa and Yongwang are different.”
“See? What did I tell you!”
“Yongwang is hiding something, whereas Senior Brother Myeonghwa conceals nothing and lays everything out in the open.”
“……That definitely sounds like a compliment, so why doesn’t it feel like one?”
At Myeonghwa’s mutter, the rest of the party broke into soft laughter.
With the Red Dragon Band suppressed, Cheonhwa reported everything that had occurred to the main mountain in detail, just as promised. Word returned before long—not by letter, but in person. An elder-rank figure arrived with the news: Hyeonwon Jinin, one of the few Super Experts still remaining in the Zhongnan Sect and master of the Martial Hall that researched martial arts.
“We pay our respects to Hyeonwon Jinin.”
Startled by the unexpected heavyweight’s appearance, Cheonhwa and his martial siblings nonetheless offered proper courtesy. Hyeonwon Jinin accepted the greeting with a curt nod of his expressionless face and went straight to business.
“I’ve heard the report. Yongwang’s side made the first request for cooperation?”
“Yes. He is currently waiting at the Ankang branch of the Hao Clan.”
“Guide me.”
Under Cheonhwa’s guidance, Hyeonwon Jinin arrived at the Hao Clan’s Ankang branch. When he finally faced Yongwang, he again dispensed with all preamble and cut to the heart of the matter.
“The main mountain is inclined to accept Yongwang’s request for cooperation favorably. We would prefer to discuss the detailed terms of the agreement in Xi’an. Will that be acceptable?”
“If you’re willing to hear us out on cooperation, I can live with that much. Shall we prepare the boat on our side?”
“As you wish.”
“Good. We’ll depart as soon as everything’s ready.”
Once the decision was made, everything proceeded swiftly. Cheonhwa’s party boarded Yongwang’s vessel together with Hyeonwon Jinin and set out for Xi’an. Unlike before, none of them hesitated to step onto the ship.
We have a Super Expert on our side this time.
Cheonhwa observed Hyeonwon through the Six Harmony Sensory Path. From their first meeting until now, Hyeonwon Jinin had maintained the same indifferent demeanor—so much so that Cheonhwa almost felt he was looking at a stone statue rather than a person. A man who faithfully carried out orders and seemed to take no interest in anything beyond them.
Yet his sensory awareness is constantly open. He is monitoring every one of us—and everyone else on this ship.
Even if Yongwang attempted a betrayal, Hyeonwon was prepared to respond. As long as the Martial Hall Master was present, it would not matter if Yongwang flipped his attitude as easily as turning over a hand.
But by pure distance, Mount Zhongnan is closer than Xi’an. Why designate Xi’an as the negotiation site?
Curious, Cheonhwa asked Jeokhwa for an explanation.
“Mount Zhongnan is the headquarters of our Zhongnan Sect, so it would place a heavy psychological burden on Yongwang. That is why Xi’an—still under Zhongnan influence, yet distant from the main mountain—was chosen for the signing of the agreement.”
“But didn’t we receive the Green Forest King as a guest of the main mountain?”
“That was only because the Green Forest King barged in without warning and left us no choice but to treat him as a guest. Ordinarily, inviting a major unorthodox faction into a sect’s mountain can damage the face of the orthodox path.”
The Green Forest King had been the exception, Jeokhwa added; this was the proper way of things.
After several days of travel by boat, the party at last reached Xi’an.
Waiting to receive them in Xi’an was the Sect Leader of the Zhongnan Sect himself—Okwon Jinin. The old Taoist wore a faint smile as he praised the party.
“You have worked hard, traveling the southern reaches of Shaanxi Province to carry out your duties.”
“We merely did what needed to be done.”
“Even so, when someone completes a task that had to be done, that completion should be acknowledged. Only then is there at least a minimal recompense for the effort they have poured out.”
Okwon Jinin clapped Cheonhwa and the others once on the shoulder, then turned his gaze to Hyeonwon Jinin.
“You have my thanks for bringing the children here safely. From this point on, this one will take over.”
“I leave the rest in your hands.”
Having completed the handover, Hyeonwon Jinin offered a brief farewell and immediately left. Judging by the direction he took, he was most likely returning to the Zhongnan Sect.
After seeing him off, Okwon Jinin turned to the guest who had been waiting.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting.”
“I can wait as long as necessary for something like this. How often in a man’s life does a Peerless Expert apologize to him?”
“Heh. It is indeed uncommon. In any case—what is it you desire?”
“I will speak plainly. Our Yangtze Waterway Sect wishes to abandon water banditry and convert from the unorthodox path to the gray path between righteousness and evil.”
“That… is a proposal I truly did not expect.”
“When the cultivation of the Upper Dantian has reached a realm where even the truth and falsehood woven into words can be distinguished, what would be the point of hiding anything from a Peerless Expert?”
Yongwang spoke with a bold smile on his lips. Okwon Jinin, however, perceived that the man’s posture was pure bluff. No matter how skillfully one concealed emotion, the feelings transmitted through the mind-spirit could not be so easily masked.
Stroking his beard, Okwon Jinin continued.
“I understand the intent. But what does that have to do with cooperating with our Zhongnan Sect?”
“At present the Yangtze Waterway Sect is split in two—the Anti-Dragon King faction, still mad for piracy, and the Dragon King faction that follows me toward the gray path.”
“You mean to eliminate future threats while shifting the guilt onto the Anti-Dragon King faction. Requesting cooperation is also a way of asking the orthodox path to recognize the change in the Yangtze Waterway Sect.”
“Yes. It will not be a bad deal for the orthodox path either. The Six Tyrant Coalition will shrink to the Five Tyrant Coalition, and the orthodox world will gain the reputation of having reformed an unorthodox force.”
“Yet that alone will hardly be enough for the Yangtze Waterway Sect’s transformation to be fully acknowledged.”
“Which is why I intend to stake my own neck.”
Yongwang clenched his fist tightly as he spoke.
“If I—who am as good as the living symbol of the Yangtze Waterway Sect—turn myself in to the authorities, people will feel that the old Yangtze Waterway Sect and the newly reborn sect have truly parted ways.”
“Haha. So when you offered that neck as compensation at the time of the cooperation proposal, you already had this far in mind?”
Okwon Jinin could not help but marvel at the depth of Yongwang’s calculations.