Sichuan Journey - Deepening (12)
Sichuan Journey - Deepening (12)
The meeting room, which only a few days ago had been filled with optimism, was now shrouded in gloom. Nothing had changed. Hong Ye, who had collapsed, had not risen, nor had the Grandmaster suddenly changed course and personally intervened in the sect's operations.
The elders still held real power, and their stance of acting for the great cause of the Taiji Sect remained unchanged. But the faces gathered around the round table now showed more anxiety and suspicion than pride. Elder Baek, seated at the center, rolled his eyes and openly scanned the other elders; the others glanced back at Elder Baek or kept clearing their throats as they watched each other's reactions.
"Hmm...."
"Ahem.. hmm...."
It was a strange thing. At the moment that should have been the most joyous, no one could voice an opinion first—only throat clearings and sidelong glances accumulated. In everyone's heads, calculations were piling up. Elder Baek, for his part, fretted over the whispers that the other elders were deliberately holding So-bin back.
The other elders thought that Elder Baek was aiming for the Grandmaster position and intentionally pushing So-bin into the direct disciple spot. The Taiji Sect was not so small that they would simply accept pushing one elder's disciple into the direct disciple role. Everyone believed that to ascend to the Grandmaster position, one needed proper qualifications—and having one's own faction's disciple become the direct disciple was one of those qualifications.
In the silence, it was finally Elder Baek who spoke first.
"So, we must now gradually decide who to appoint as the direct disciple, should we not? Since there is no sign of Hong Ye recovering, I believe it is not too early to begin discussions. If we wait too long, the discipline of the sect will slacken."
At his words, the other elders' gazes shifted. Elder Baek wore an expression of "just as expected" at their reactions. They all had the ulterior motive of wanting to elevate their own disciples to the direct disciple position. But considering potential, and considering the merit of having led the operation so far, it was only right that the child to ascend to direct disciple should be chosen from his own faction.
He believed that the one who would formally inherit the name of the Taiji Sect should be him as well. So Elder Baek ignored the unsettling atmosphere and resolutely spoke.
"As I said before, I believe it is right that So-bin inherit the position of direct disciple. She has potential and a suitable level of martial arts, so we can look forward to the next Dragon Phoenix Gathering. I am certain that if we give So-bin the direct disciple position, she will reach greater heights than Hong Ye achieved this time and spread the name of the Taiji Sect far and wide."
The justification was sufficient. Even before planning this operation, whenever the elders conversed, So-bin had always been a candidate for direct disciple. Pushing So-bin as the direct disciple was therefore not so unjust. Elder Baek raised his head confidently and spoke.
"What do the other elders think?"
"I oppose."
Then another elder shook his head. With a stiff face, he raised his hand brusquely and spoke while stroking his long beard.
"In terms of talent, my cherished Hong-gi is not inferior, and his seniority is higher than So-bin's. He has contributed to the Taiji Sect all this while; how could we give the direct disciple position to a junior child and disrupt the order? I think Hong-gi should receive it."
Elder Baek's face twisted. When he had mentioned So-bin, he had expected some pushback, but not such blatant opposition. As he bit his lips and narrowed his brows, the other elders nodded, sighed, and scrutinized Elder Baek.
It was just as Docheol had said.
No matter what justification he offered, Elder Baek wanted So-bin to become the direct disciple. And he intended to use this opportunity to build the case for himself to become Grandmaster. Elder Baek spoke.
"Where is the rule that says we award the direct disciple position based on seniority? When Hong Ye received it, there were many disciples with higher seniority, but we took issue with his background, not his seniority, did we not?"
"That was only not mentioned because his background was a bigger issue. It is indeed right to give the direct disciple position to a particularly outstanding disciple rather than by seniority. But does the Taiji Sect currently have such an outstanding disciple? Even if So-bin has great potential, her level is still lacking, and she hasn't even fully mastered the basics of Taijiquan. So how can she be given the title of direct disciple? In such a case, naturally the one with higher seniority should receive the position. And since Hong-gi has higher seniority than So-bin, naturally Hong-gi should receive it."
Nodding at the elder's words, another elder added.
"That is correct. We should give the direct disciple position to a disciple other than So-bin."
Of course, this elder also did not support Hong-gi. He, too, was merely speaking with the intention of first pushing out Elder Baek, having prepared his own justifications and excuses to promote his own faction's disciple. One of the rules of political infighting is to first drag the strongest opponent off the board. The elders were simply acting according to standard procedure.
Elder Baek could clearly read their inner thoughts, but with the other elders acting as one mind and one will, driven by desire, there was no way for him to counterattack. He could only bring up past matters and speak like this.
"Didn't everyone say So-bin was good last time? How have your minds changed? How can you claim to be thinking of the Taiji Sect's future while causing division like this without unifying opinions?"
"Elder Baek, are you acting this way now for the sake of the Taiji Sect's future?"
Elder Baek nodded at the elder's question and shouted proudly.
"Yes! I am acting like this for the future of the Taiji Sect!"
Then another elder raised his voice without backing down.
"How shameless. Are you not acting for the future where you yourself become Grandmaster, rather than for the Taiji Sect's future? That is why you are pushing a child like So-bin who lacks qualifications as the direct disciple, and whenever other elders recommend their disciples, you block them by saying it's not acceptable, is it not?"
Elder Baek's face turned pale, then flushed red again. It was true that he had harbored such thoughts. In his heart of recommending So-bin, there was clearly the thought that since his own achievements were high, his own faction should become the direct disciple. As he wore a dumbfounded expression and couldn't continue speaking for a moment, the elders, like jackals, all began to pour out words.
"From the very beginning, you schemed to make your own disciple the direct disciple! Shame on you! How could you harbor such a sinister heart and think of bringing down the direct disciple! Was everything you said about working for the Taiji Sect's great cause all lies?"
"When the intent is not pure, how can we gracefully accept that recommendation of a disciple? I oppose making So-bin the direct disciple! I believe it is proper to establish another child besides So-bin!"
They, pretending they hadn't done the same, began to corner him as if they had been deceived by Elder Baek's great cause and had acted unwillingly. Their logic was that since the whole affair had been conducted with suspicious intent from the start, only Elder Baek was at fault; because they had been manipulated by his wicked intentions, they themselves bore no guilt.
Even Elder Baek didn't just keep his mouth shut and take it. He was so enraged that veins bulged on his face as he shouted.
"Didn't everyone agree! You all agreed to the plan I established! And followed my words! Now you come and say you didn't get blood on your hands! If you think the claim of being deceived will hold any water, then leave this place at once! Go out and shout it in the streets of Sichuan! 'For the future of the Taiji Sect! The elders fed poison to the direct disciple! But the elder who led this is now trying to make his own disciple the direct disciple, and I am so wronged I could die!' Go ahead and shout that! The Grandmaster would be very pleased!"
At Elder Baek's thunderous rebuke, everyone shut their mouths. But they were merely overwhelmed by his force; they by no means agreed with his words. Elder Baek took a deep breath, staggered, then sat down and gnashed his teeth as he swept the table with his palm.
Silence.
A long silence followed. As if in the aftermath of a storm, exhausted fury lingered on everyone's faces. At the end of the long silence, one of the other elders looked straight at Elder Baek and spoke.
"If you feel wronged, go out and shout too. Say that because you coveted the Grandmaster position, you became an elder and turned the direct disciple into a cripple, and now no one agrees to your proposal of making your own disciple the direct disciple."
Silence followed again. Neither Elder Baek nor the other elders continued speaking. In the meeting hall where trust had once existed, there was no longer even the intention to cooperate.
*******
"...I do not know if I am allowed to enjoy such luxury."
"You've endured hardship, so occasionally enjoying life like this is good."
"I-I am so curious about what is happening outside that I cannot relax and rest...!"
"Ahem, stay still. If we don't steadily loosen your stiff limbs, you'll get hurt when you move later."
"Ha, ah-at...! Ah-eut...! Ah...! Th-there, please rub more there...! Ah-ut...!"
"Senior Brother Hong Ye. Please have your meal here. It must be uncomfortable eating while lying down, so I have specially cut the food into small pieces for you. Ah— Please."
"...Ah, ah-."
Hong Ye was doing very well.