Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (4)
Dragon-Phoenix Gathering (4)
"Feels like I've become a country bumpkin."
"It's usually about the same as Chang'an, but when the Dragon Phoenix Gathering comes around, it gets this lively."
The remark about it being similar to Chang'an sounded like mere flattery. The man added a few more words, but they were swallowed up by the noise and I couldn't hear them.
The Murim Alliance building, towering like an observatory, guarded the center of the main street, and on the streets of Wuhan, where carriages and people mingled, the crowds swarmed like cockroaches. Seon-go had initially gaped at the city's splendor, but then, overwhelmed by the endless buildings and crowds, she closed the window and hunched over.
Everywhere, merchants reached out their hands, laughing heartily; martial artists from other regions could be seen exchanging greetings. If you looked at each one closely, each was a spectacle in itself, and conversely, some people were murmuring among themselves as they looked at our carriage.
"I'm nervous. Even though I'm not the one competing."
The overwhelming crowd left country folk tense and panicked. Seon-go clutched her clothes and clung close to me.
"When there are this many people, everyone gets nervous. Don't worry, just lean on me here."
Seon-go nodded and pressed firmly against my chest. Both windows were shut as a precaution, but through the gap we had left open on purpose, new sights kept pouring in. With the Dragon Phoenix Gathering approaching, all the martial artists under heaven were gathering in one place.
Because of that, every time I turned my head, I could catch glimpses of facets of the martial world rarely seen in ordinary times.
There were young people, faces flushed with anticipation for the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, and youthful martial disciples gathered in orderly clusters in the corners, their eyes sparkling. A middle-aged martial artist with a beard and a stern expression was watching the children with severe eyes and giving them some kind of warning.
"Aaaah! Please spare me! I was wrong! I didn't recognize my lord and acted rashly!"
"To lay your hand on the purse of the Tang Clan—you must be out of your mind. Don't worry, I won't hand you over to the authorities."
"Th-The Tang Clan...! Please! Let me be punished by the authorities! P-Please, I beg you!"
A brazen thief could be seen howling with his wrist twisted after trying to pickpocket a martial artist. The man from the Tang Clan had his hair tied back, his face stained white as if powdered. With his slanted eyes, he gave off the impression of a demon from a traditional painting.
"Drag him away."
"Uwaaaaaah!"
The pickpocket thrashed as his limbs were seized, like a prisoner being drawn and quartered. Even amidst the crowd, you could see him bucking his waist and bouncing around. Trying to pickpocket at the time when martial artists were most numerous in Wuhan—that thief wasn't just an ordinary madman.
The carriage turned off the main street and moved into an alley. A large building, seemingly an official residence, came into view alongside the inns. Unlike the main street, the crowd was sparse, so we could open the windows again. As soon as the window opened, the man escorting us spoke.
"That building over there is the organization overseeing the Dragon Phoenix Gathering. We'll have your luggage unpacked at the inn, so why not go in and take a look around while you're at it? Great Hero Yeong-yu should also be inside."
The man spoke in an easy tone, as if asking whether we wanted to tour a company. But for someone watching all those busy people, it was a thoroughly unappealing offer.
"Is it really all right to just go in? With the Dragon Phoenix Gathering right around the corner, you must be busy."
The man smiled and said.
"Originally, at this time, acquaintances come and go frequently, so no one really minds. You can go in without worry. Great Hero Yeong-yu also said that it's hard to see this place at other times, so he told me to have you come over here if possible."
"I want to go too. It's the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, after all. I've really wanted to see how it's prepared like this."
Seon-go chimed in. Though she usually kept quiet, she revealed a martial artist's interest in things like this. If Seon-go was fine with it and Yeong-yu had told us to come, I had no reason to refuse.
"Then I'll excuse myself."
"Yes. I'll give you the inn pass first, so just come this way."
******
"Give me the participants' documents for the Dragon Phoenix Gathering! I need to check them against the match-up table. Bring them together with the draw!"
"Who did this?! Some idiot who can't tell left from right put the VIP seat nameplates in reverse!"
"There's a complaint from the Murong family's inn—the window is broken and there's a draft. Quickly call someone to repair it. They're asking for a room change, but getting an inn now is like catching stars in the sky, so appease them and say it can't be done."
"Bring the liquor inventory count quickly! We need to place new orders now!"
No matter what world you go to, there are spaces that carry similar misfortunes.
"....Shall we go back?"
In any era and any place, a venue right before a major event gave off the same air. Though it seemed to be falling apart in utter chaos, if you looked closely, each part was interlocking like a precise machine. It seemed only people were screaming as if in hell and tearing their hair out, but even in that madness, one thing after another advanced—that was the event.
"It's fine. We're just passing through."
I soothed the intimidated Seon-go and slowly made my way through the chaotic crowd. A few people glanced at us for a moment, but most shrugged or paid no attention and went on with their work.
Just as the man outside had said, acquaintances coming by at this time really did seem to be a common occurrence. Every time I turned my head in search of Zhuge Yeong-yu, different scenes came into view.
People running with documents, others conversing with fellow martial artists. There were people speaking with serious expressions in front of laborers, and on the other side, a bearded old man was yelling at a martial artist seated behind a counter.
"No! This cannot be accepted! Even if our Elixir Pill Sect is not widely known! How can you appoint the Jinju Eon Family as the medical advisory for this Dragon Phoenix Gathering! How can you push aside us, who have actually treated people, for those who only handle corpses!"
It seemed they were arguing over quite an important matter. The old man, shouting with veins bulging on his neck, was of a lower level than expected. He appeared to be a peak master, but the aura he emitted was not so much a fighting spirit as simply his qi scattering wildly because he couldn't control his emotions.
There was a precariousness about him, as if with a well-timed axe strike, one could kill him.
The clerk sitting at the counter was a man with a timid air, wearing a helpless expression as he tried to soothe the old man.
"Please calm down, sir. We know your knowledge and pill-making ability are outstanding, but the various sects have strongly insisted that it's simply unreasonable to entrust their own disciples to another sect. We had no choice."
"No choice? But even so, you use the Jinju Eon Family? No matter what, this...!"
Seon-go tilted her head and asked me.
"What is the Jinju Eon Family?"
"I don't know."
I didn't know. Was it famous? For someone like me, aside from the Nine Sects One Gang, they were all the same. Just as the old man's speech was growing rougher, a blunt voice cut in from somewhere.
"Sir, I understand that you're upset."
The voice was very composed but resonant, clearly entering the ear. Yet it came with almost no intonation, flowing in swiftly, so that if you didn't listen closely, you might miss the thread. The old man turned his head toward the direction of the voice, then his eyes rounded and he shouted.
"Y-You, you're from the Jinju Eon Family...."
"Yes. I am Eon Yuhwa. Pleased to meet you, sir."
A woman named Eon Yuhwa revealed herself. Her face was so pale it was cadaverous, and deep dark shadows hung beneath her eyes. Every time she blinked, her pupils moved rapidly like a drug addict's, and her lips quivered minutely as if reciting rather than speaking.
She didn't even look at the other person and her mouth didn't open wide, so it was as if she was using a telepathy technique toward the void rather than speaking. Upon seeing Eon Yuhwa, the old man gave a dry cough and spoke in a calmer tone.
"....So, when did the Jinju Eon Family start interfering in medical affairs?"
Eon Yuhwa's eyes turned toward the old man. Her jet-black pupils repeatedly dilated and contracted as if pulsing of their own accord. At that eerie eye movement, the old man flinched, and Eon Yuhwa looked elsewhere again and spoke.
"I did not come as an outstanding physician comparable to the Medicine King of the Elixir Pill Sect. What matters at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering is the question of who takes responsibility. While the Elixir Pill Sect studies how to keep a person from dying, the Jinju Eon Family studies why a person died."
Eon Yuhwa's hand stretched into the air.
"For example, should someone die from a killing blow during this Dragon Phoenix Gathering, I will analyze why that person died. Was it an attack that could have been blocked with inner strength? Did they perceive the attack? Did they deliberately not block it? The corpse speaks volumes."
She let her arm droop like mistletoe and continued.
"My role is to apportion the share of responsibility."
I didn't know what she did, but her chest was large.