Sichuan Journey - Deepening (11)
Sichuan Journey - Deepening (11)
The Grandmaster did not stir. Although Docheol and all the elders had come to deliver the news that his direct disciple had fallen into Qi Deviation, the Grandmaster merely glanced at Docheol. When their eyes met, the elders could not discern what he was thinking. He simply let out a deep sigh, as though he had surrendered everything, and said only this.
"Handle it as you see fit."
******
"So what do we do now?"
The junior martial sister and Docheol sat facing each other before the prone Hong Ye. Unaccustomed to lying down for so long, Hong Ye kept glancing over at Docheol. Whenever she did, he stroked her face and massaged her arms and legs, and said:
"Draw me a structure chart, as detailed as you can within the limits of your knowledge, of how the elders and disciples are entangled. And bring it to me."
At Docheol's words, the junior martial sister said, her expression uneasy.
"Isn't it a serious problem if we just switch the direct disciple right away or call a meeting?"
"They'll be sizing each other up for about a week. If word gets out that we're ready to change the direct disciple right away, it won't be received well. In the meantime, we'll devise a formation that splits them apart most effectively."
Both the junior martial sister and Hong Ye flinched at his words. When Hong Ye lifted her head to say something, Docheol gently pressed it back down.
"Ah...."
"The lady is a patient right now, so please lie still."
"Yes, sir..."
The junior martial sister looked at Docheol with a grave face and spoke.
"...Split them apart, you say. If you intend to completely divide the Taiji Sect, I will not help you."
Docheol could only laugh at her words.
"The division of the Taiji Sect? How can a group that poisons someone because they dislike the direct disciple be a normal group? Would the survival of such a group truly benefit the martial world?"
The junior martial sister's face flushed. She had been one of the people who led the atmosphere that allowed the elders to push the situation to this extreme. Though their relationship had improved now, her clear conscience rested entirely on Hong Ye's forgiveness. She could not help but feel pain whenever a sore spot of the Taiji Sect was poked.
"Of course, I have neither the intention nor the ability to destroy or divide the Taiji Sect. How could I even think such a thing when my wife is a member of the Taiji Sect?"
"Then why are you trying to split the elders apart?"
Docheol answered her like this.
"The Master said, 'Only the wisest and the most foolish do not change.'"
The junior martial sister simply blinked at those words.
*******
Several days passed. As Docheol had predicted, the elders did not breathe a word about the matter of the direct disciple. They simply glanced at each other, striving to act as though nothing had happened. But the moment they turned away, their eyes rolled so wildly that to anyone in the know, it looked nothing short of pathetic and sleazy.
Around that time, Docheol requested private audiences with several elders. Their reactions to the invitations varied, but they all similarly assumed that Docheol had summoned them either to express resentment or to interrogate them about something.
"Please, come right in."
But Docheol did no such thing. For a man whose wife had been crippled, he greeted the elders with an exceedingly neat and relaxed attitude, and the elders could only blink, completely unsure how to react.
"Please, have a seat. A great crisis has befallen the sect, and I wanted to speak with you again like this."
Docheol's expression, as if he were elated, and the unnervingly composed demeanor oozing from him were abnormal. Every elder who met with him privately jumped to conclusions and first offered words of condolence.
"The matter of Hong Ye has become regrettable. For such a thing to happen while we happened to be away, I have no words. We will continue to personally care for Hong Ye so that she faces no discomfort...."
But Docheol cut off the elder's words. A sharp question flew from a face touched with a faint smile.
"Why do you say such things? Aren't you secretly relieved that you can finally change the direct disciple?"
The elder, suddenly stabbed in a sore spot, stared at Docheol dumbfounded. Then, rolling his eyes and sealing his lips, he sprang from his seat and shouted in an angry voice.
"How can you say such a thing? Pouring cold water on someone who came to console you! No matter how honored a guest you are, you should know how to watch your words!"
But Docheol was utterly unshaken by the elder's intense reaction. As if he had expected it, he instead delivered a remark that added fuel to the fire.
"I think so too. Hong Ye's body is quite usable, but still, taking a Southern Barbarian as a wife... Wouldn't it be a blemish for someone who will rise triumphantly with the backing of the Zhuge Clan? When I try to carve out a place in this martial world, who would want to stand beneath a Southern Barbarian?"
At that, any elder facing Docheol had no choice but to shut his mouth in bewilderment and rack his brain. On one hand, they felt a little sorry for Hong Ye, who had been deceived into marrying such a man; at the same time, they grew curious about the intention behind Docheol broaching this topic.
"....What is it exactly you want to say?"
"I'm suggesting we get along well going forward. Is the Yang Family Taiji Sect some ordinary sect? As I am undertaking the advanced course of Taijiquan, I can be considered a member of this sect. It would be a bit upsetting if you tried to push me out just because I was Hong Ye's husband, so I'm telling you this in advance."
"How could we possibly push out Sect Leader Docheol?"
Still, unlike Hong Ye, whom they could handle within their own ranks, Docheol had the Zhuge Clan standing behind him. If Docheol suddenly collapsed or disappeared within the Taiji Sect, it would become a problem the elders could not handle among themselves.
Rather, to the Taiji Sect, Docheol was a connection it was better to keep moving forward with, if possible. Docheol knew that fact very well.
So Docheol added another point.
"There's also the matter of my curiosity about who will become the next direct disciple, so I arranged this meeting hoping you might secretly give me a hint. If I become close with the direct disciples, wouldn't that be a good relationship for both sides going forward?"
The elder sat back down at Docheol's question and said:
"Naturally, isn't that child So-bin the most qualified? She has talent and is brimming with the will to become the direct disciple."
Docheol recalled the junior martial sister So-bin, who had looked at them with sharp eyes and cooperated. Her name was So-bin. Docheol asked the elder:
"But aren't there several disciples who are senior in generation and superior in skill to that child? Among them, I've heard of disciples like Hong-gi and Mu-ung. According to my former wife, Hong Ye, if anyone else were to become the direct disciple, Hong-gi would be the perfect choice. Why did you pick a child like So-bin?"
"We are looking at potential. You can't simply elevate someone to direct disciple just because they have good martial prowess right now."
"Isn't this current push to make So-bin the direct disciple strongly influenced by Elder Baek's lobbying?"
The elder's face hardened. After a moment's thought, he asked again.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Is it not true? When there are clearly disciples with better skill and seniority, isn't Elder Baek the only one insisting that So-bin become the direct disciple? She is a child from Elder Baek's lineage, isn't she? I'm asking if he isn't pulling strings because if his disciple becomes the direct disciple, his voice will grow louder, and he could rise to the position of Grandmaster of the Taiji Sect in the future."
'Plant suspicion.'
"How could one harbor such intentions? We are all simply making unavoidable decisions for the future of the Taiji Sect."
"I'm not saying you, Elder, harbor such intentions. But do you truly know what Elder Baek is thinking? Even Hong Ye proved her qualifications by achieving excellent results at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering. There's no rule saying Hong-gi couldn't do the same."
'Touch the secret desires hidden behind the great cause for the Taiji Sect, and peel back their bare faces.'
"We act only for the great cause of the Taiji Sect."
"If so, then the one who acts most diligently for the great cause of the Taiji Sect should naturally become the next Grandmaster. Do you think Elder Baek is fit for that position?"
'Probe the deepest hidden desires, stir them up, and make them expose their weaknesses on their own.'
"...Great Hero, you are merely a guest, and your words are excessively interfering in the internal affairs of the Taiji Sect."
"You don't believe your direct disciple, Hong-gi, is inferior to So-bin, do you? I don't think it's such a bad thing for you to voice your opinion once, Elder."
'Men whose desires are plainly visible inevitably act like beasts.'
"....I will take my leave now."
That was Docheol's way of hunting.
******
At the same time, the junior martial sister So-bin was also having a private audience with Elder Baek. She knelt before him and said:
"Elder. It seems, no matter what, I am not suited for the position of direct disciple."
"...What nonsense is this?"
When Elder Baek was greatly startled by her sudden change of heart, So-bin said with her head bowed.
"I overheard other elders talking. They said whether someone with a higher generation and better skills should become the direct disciple instead...."
She trailed off at the end of her words.
Elder Baek's face clouded over as well.