Managing Subordinates (1)
This seat had been quietly watching Seol-ah as she searched for her answer. I did not intervene, but I kept a constant eye on her. After what happened last time, I could not help but feel uneasy. Since she was someone who acted for my sake and did what I desired, I thought she deserved at least that much consideration. Each time I saw that red thing surging within her, it was unpleasant, yet it was something I could endure.
Seol-ah had not even grasped the true intent behind the task this seat had given her. Simji was not something one could create by relying on others. It had to be found from within oneself. Watching her wander about, unsure of what to do, was truly frustrating, but for now I left her be. If this seat offered advice from the side, it would only increase her dependence. I intended to wait until she gained enlightenment through her own failures and setbacks.
That was why, even when Hak Yeong-chung led Seol-ah down the wrong path, I left it alone for the time being. I thought that only after she placed her trust in someone and suffered a great failure would she realize it was mistaken. However, when I saw her believing that wrong path to be correct and leaping toward the abyss, I could no longer stand by. It seemed as though she might recreate the events of the past.
Ordinary people usually stop when they feel something is wrong midway. After all, sensing danger is what makes humans human. But Seol-ah was far from normal. Was she not the fool who, in an attempt to imitate this seat, paid no heed even as her own body twisted? If that fellow believed his path was right even if the bottom was a pit of hell, he would gladly jump in. This seat had no choice but to forcibly grab him by the ankle.
I would have to think about how to advise Seol-ah. Well, that was a matter for later. What needed to be done right now was something else.
What this seat had asked of Hak Yeong-chung was to teach the martial arts of Mount Hua in this place. He was clearly fulfilling that role properly. One could tell his ability just by seeing that the users belonging to my current Mount Hua had awakened some sense of principle. Since he was performing his role so well, I had been turning a blind eye to a bit of deviation, but now that he was starting to test where the line was, I could no longer leave it be.
This seat had only permitted playing on the grass, not wagging tails at others after jumping over the fence. It seemed necessary to remind him once more what kind of leash he wore.
Standing at the center of Mount Hua, I spread my qi sense. The inner energy of the Purple Mist Divine Art that Hak Yeong-chung possessed was distinctive. The Purple Mist Divine Art itself had a strong presence, but the inner energy of someone who had crammed countless martial arts into his body was no different from a patchwork. Personally, I considered that a talent as well. Being able to contain the characteristics of so many martial arts within one's body and remain fine was not something an ordinary person could do. Conversely, it was truly regrettable that he had not reached the extreme in any single art because he had dabbled in so many, but that must be his fate.
Regardless, Hak Yeong-chung possessed such a deformed inner energy. Detecting him was all too easy, even if he was some distance away.
I moved toward where Hak Yeong-chung was, stepping across the ground. The place he stayed was a small village near Mount Hua. More precisely, it had once been a village. The people who had lived here had disappeared even before I arrived in this world, and it seemed Hak Yeong-chung had rebuilt the ruins with his subordinates and was using it. Reconstruction was still ongoing, but the traces of collapse had not been completely erased yet.
Standing before the village, I closed my eyes and opened them again. Then the flow of the world that this seat had deliberately erased from view came into sight. Most of what was drawn over the village scenery was familiar. The mountain breeze blowing. The people sleeping inside. The insects crawling about. The moonlight descending from the sky. But among them, there was clearly something foreign as well.
It was something this seat had definitely seen when I burned down the Green Forest Stronghold before. Compared to then it was faint, but it had certainly left a trace. The dog mad for the prey called martial arts was wagging its tail at anyone who might give it new food.
The moment I revealed my presence with the pipe in my mouth, subordinates from Hak Yeong-chung's domain rushed out and surrounded me. Unlike when he had hidden in the Zhuge clan's domain before, there was no longer any reason to conceal his identity. Hak Yeong-chung's subordinates were not dressed like beggars. Their fierce expressions remained the same, but their attire was proper, so they were at least tolerable to look at.
"Heavenly Demon Cult Leader, what brings you here?"
I had been thinking of trampling them if they spouted nonsense, but there was no need. They seemed to recognize my face and immediately knelt, showing reverence.
"I came to see Hak Yeong-chung."
"Hak Yeong-chung is—"
"Is?"
The words the old man who had guarded the front of the shop where Hak Yeong-chung once hid had unconsciously uttered bothered me, so I seized the end of his sentence.
"Child. Is Hak Yeong-chung higher? Or is this seat higher?"
"That is—"
"Answer."
"Of course, the Heavenly Demon Cult Leader is far higher."
"Then why do you elevate Hak Yeong-chung in my presence? Were you trying to mock this seat?"
"Absolutely not."
Right. It might not have been. It could have been words that slipped out unconsciously. Seeing how flustered he was, the possibility seemed high. However, this seat had no intention of caring about their circumstances. If nothing had happened, I would have let it pass, but unfortunately, something had happened. I needed to make an example for Hak Yeong-chung's sake.
Let me see. There were ten of them around me right now. If they screamed in chorus, it would make a decent enough song.
The moment I approached the flustered old man and reached out my hand, Hak Yeong-chung blocked the way.
"Greetings, Cult Leader."
His movement was quick. If he had been trembling and hiding inside, I had planned to increase the number of people singing the chorus until he came out.
"I heard you came to see me."
"Yes. That is correct."
"May I ask what business you have?"
"I have something to ask, so answer. Why did you deliberately lead Seol-ah down the wrong path?"
I knew that Seol-ah had consulted with him. Since that fellow could not find the answer within himself, he had been clinging to those around him. In a situation where neither the benefactor nor Baek Hwaryeong could give a proper answer, the helping hand Hak Yeong-chung extended must have been like a blessing to Seol-ah. Seol-ah had followed his words, but he had deliberately not given a proper answer.
"Someone of your level would surely know that the simji of the heart cannot be found in others."
To this seat, it seemed he had deliberately intended for failure and frustration. What had he been thinking? I was truly curious.
"It seems I was unskilled in my teaching."
"Oh? Is that so? It was not that you tried to lead her down another path by making her fail on purpose?"
He was trying to lie shamelessly. Did he take this seat for a fool?
When I spread my inner energy around, the martial artists surrounding me began to flinch. The inner energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was ferocious. No matter how much training they had received from Hak Yeong-chung, they were nothing but back-alley ruffians. No one could stand tall before my inner energy.
"Then let me ask another question. You, mad for martial arts. What did the Blood Sect promise to give you?"
I knew that he was someone who wanted to store all the martial arts in the world in his own library. That was why he had betrayed the Mount Hua where he was born and raised in the past. That was also why he had attacked various sects while staying by my side. And the reason he was clinging to my side now was because the Plum Blossom Swordplay was in my hands. No matter how satisfied he was being by my side, his feelings were closer to complacency than loyalty. If someone else offered him food, he would immediately go wag his tail there. What meaning would there be in that?
To be honest, I was a little surprised. Even though I had placed a leash on him by sealing several of his acupoints, he had reached out to the Blood Sect, thinking of abandoning me. He really was a madman. He valued learning new martial arts more than his life as a martial artist.
"Pardon? What do you mean by that?"
"Are you going to deny it?"
It did not matter. No matter what he said, what this seat had to do would not change much.
I pressed down on Hak Yeong-chung's subordinates with the inner energy I had spread around. They tried to resist, but how could ruffians who had not even reached the Transcendence Realm withstand my level? Watching them share deep affection with the ground, I approached Hak Yeong-chung, who was enduring the inner energy with gritted teeth.
How strange. Several of his acupoints should be sealed right now, yet he was enduring it. Still, he was the leader of a group, after all.
"Hak Yeong-chung. I will ask again. Did the Blood Sect say they would show you their martial arts?"
"...Yes. That is correct."
Haha. Only after feeling a threat to his life did he speak properly. If he had been like this from the beginning, how good would that have been? Then his subordinates would not have had to face unconsciousness either.
"How foolish."
Placing any more of a leash on this fellow was meaningless. A leash had to be appropriate. If it tightened around the neck to the point of suffocation, one would think of breaking free from the leash and tearing it apart. Therefore, to control Hak Yeong-chung, rather than putting a leash on him, I had to show him food in front of him. I had to show him that this side was more valuable than that side.
"Their martial arts will naturally end up in your hands anyway, so why think of suffering losses by doing as they say?"
"Pardon?"
"Think about it. When they collapse, where will the things they possessed go?"
That was what the Corpse-Seeking Dog did best. Coveting the things he desired from corpses. He must have done it countless times before, so I did not know why he was pretending not to know.
When I said that, Hak Yeong-chung let out an exclamation as if he understood the situation.
"Does that mean—"
"Someday, when the Blood Sect collapses, you will be the one tearing the flesh from their corpses."
Would it not be better to tear at corpses than to bow your head beneath them?