Sichuan Journey - Deepening (13)
Sichuan Journey - Deepening (13)
As the saying went, if the upstream water was clean, the downstream water ran clear.
True to that saying, the ugly fighting erupting at the top was spreading below as well. It began with the elders. As they discussed who to appoint as direct disciple, they prowled around with eyes wide open, seizing on any minor flaw. A flaw in a rival's disciple became the reason their own disciple ought to be made the direct disciple.
The elders were busy roaming inside the Taiji Sect, looking for flaws in other disciples.
"You are a disciple of the Taiji Sect—how can you act so rashly and recklessly? Aren't you ashamed before the other disciples?"
"I'm sorry!"
One of the elders scolded Hong-gi severely with these words. The reason he was scolded was that during training, Hong-gi had laughed loudly with the other disciples.
"You, a disciple of the Taiji Sect, still haven't mastered Taijiquan! Does it make any sense to go around proudly calling yourself a disciple of the Taiji Sect when you haven't even mastered the basics?"
"I'm sorry!"
Another elder sternly reprimanded So-bin, saying she was slow to learn Taijiquan. Considering her age and when she had started learning, her progress was actually quite fast, but that fact did not matter to the elder.
"As a disciple of the Taiji Sect, you should dress with dignity! Dressed like that, you're no different from a beggar of the Beggars' Sect! Tie your belt properly at once!"
"You make too many mistakes in stance practice! How can you act as a senior with such performance? If you want to be called senior brother, you must live up to that title!"
Thus, a despicable struggle of mutual fault-finding continued within the Taiji Sect. What began as a war of nerves among the elders had at some point spread to the disciples as well, creating an atmosphere in which they reported each other's faults and hunted for weaknesses. It had all happened in just a few weeks. The elders praised the children of their own factions when they reported others' weaknesses, and once inside the meeting room, they would report what they had heard, verbatim, and attack the opposing faction's disciples.
Then, the heated elders would frantically use their own faction's disciples to search for weaknesses in their opponents, and the situation degenerated into repeatedly attacking each other's feelings in petty, childish ways.
Amid this horrific atmosphere, So-bin found it difficult to keep her wits about her. If she let her guard down just a little, she felt she would be swept along by Elder Baek's coercion. She thought it fortunate that Hong Ye was not witnessing this sorry state, and she had no choice but to pour out her grievances to Docheol.
"Great hero. Is this right? I feel like something is going terribly wrong. This was a harmonious sect, but now everyone is busy tearing each other apart like beasts. Even the children I was once close to are now eyeing me warily, and senior brothers Hong-gi and Mu-ung both look exhausted. I don't know if this is right."
"It's always the case that the pain is worst right before an illness heals. That's exactly the time now; it's a time to endure. Hatred without reason or purpose can never last long. Without a driving force, it will eat away at itself, and in the end, they'll inevitably find a way to stop. When that time comes, it will all be over."
So-bin's eyes trembled as she asked Docheol.
"What will be at the end of this? What are you waiting for, great hero?"
Docheol said.
"That depends on the elders. It's not a matter that depends on me."
******
It was as he said.
Just as Docheol said, the people of the Taiji Sect started to grow weary. When they had been keeping Hong Ye in check, there had been reasons like her being a southern barbarian and the jealousy and envy that she had stolen the position of direct disciple. However, the distrust and discord now rooted among the disciples had no driving force whatsoever.
It was simply that the elders were running around desperately to find weaknesses just because they were told to, while the disciples had to keep their distance from those they had been friendly with just days before and silently focus on their training. More and more disciples made mistakes because they couldn't concentrate on their martial training, and some who had been pressed to find weaknesses began to cry, saying they couldn't do it anymore, or locked themselves in their rooms.
"Elder. I can't do this anymore. Isn't the Taiji Sect a place that practices the law of the jungle or the survival of the fittest? How can you tell us to hate our fellow disciples and to find their weaknesses and inform on them?"
"Elder, what on earth do you want? You tell me to keep pressuring and tormenting my beloved junior brothers and the junior martial sister. How is this worthy of the Taiji Sect?"
Senior disciples like Mu-ung and Hong-gi also stepped forward and spoke up to the elders. The elders, whether enraged by their words or simply hurling even harsher remarks, backed them into a corner.
"What are you talking about now? When Hong Ye was in the direct disciple seat, didn't you do the same thing without even being told? What's the problem!"
Bringing up Hong Ye's matter to justify forcing them was a mistake. Hearing that, Mu-ung looked as if he had been struck, and from then on, he locked himself in his room and didn't come out. Hong-gi, his face flushed and tears streaming at the elder's roar, packed his belongings that very day and left the Taiji Sect.
In Hong-gi's room, a letter remained.
'While calling myself a senior brother of the Taiji Sect, I have done many shameful things. Thank you for awakening a bastard whose actions were inconsistent. Elder. How could one speak with the same mouth that envied and drove out Hong Ye, and tell me to cherish my junior brothers and the junior martial sister? I no longer have the face to see them. Please do not look for me.'
It was a major incident that occurred at the end of the elders' war of nerves.
In Sichuan, strange rumors began to circulate that the Taiji Sect was always in turmoil, and within the sect, murmurs spread one after another. Disciples who didn't trust the elders began to voice complaints, and at this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Grandmaster would intervene in the sect's affairs again, even before a direct disciple was chosen.
Something was going wrong. Even the elders, whose eyes had been turned wild by the direct disciple seat, were feeling that something was off as the situation developed like this. When they gathered again in the meeting room, the elders looked like wolves, their gaunt faces emitting sharp, gleaming glares.
Their sunken cheeks stood out even more starkly against the darkness, and their eyes, watching one another, were spinning fiercely. They needed to come up with a solution. Though they hadn't yet spoken about a solution, what they were aiming for was obvious.
Someone would take responsibility and step down from the elder position. Thus, the uproar would subside and the direct disciple debate would proceed smoothly. That was what they wanted. Elder Baek, who had been gnashing his teeth over the recent turmoil, stroked his beard and spoke first.
"Hong-gi has fled the Taiji Sect. Couldn't we say this is the fault of Elder Sang, who leads that faction? I believe Elder Sang should take responsibility and step down from his elder position."
Elder Sang did not back down. He slammed his fist on the table and shouted.
"How is this my fault? Every single one of you here was busy hounding like wolves to find each other's weaknesses! You drove a talent of the Taiji Sect until he fled! How is this my fault alone?"
Another elder nodded at Elder Sang's words and said.
"But this has made one thing certain: Hong-gi was not direct disciple material. Elder Sang is right—this is not Elder Sang's fault, but Hong-gi's weakness."
As soon as the topic of direct disciple came up, everyone flinched. Some made aghast faces as if asking 'Are you bringing that up even here?', and Elder Baek also hardened his face and gauged the atmosphere. Elder Sang's veins bulged as he yelled in response to the other elder's words.
"The one speaking that way—your own disciple is locked in his room, refusing to come out! Do you even have the right to talk about weakness?"
"How dare you compare him to a bastard who abandoned the Taiji Sect and left! He's still in the sect! There's nothing wrong with Mu-ung!"
"How is a bastard who's huddled in a corner crying like a little girl qualified for direct disciple! The reason Hong-gi left was that he felt the absurdity of this situation! He came to his senses in this den of beasts! Where else can you find a direct disciple material like Hong-gi!"
The other elder frowned and said.
"A den of beasts—watch your words. Are you calling us beasts?"
Elder Sang raised his voice even further.
"Then what are we, if not beasts? I hear your disciple is going around delightedly sowing discord among the other disciples. Is he a disciple of the Taiji Sect or a beast's spawn? Hong-gi knew shame and left the Taiji Sect because he couldn't stand doing this any longer! If we hand the direct disciple position to a bastard who happily repeats deeds worse than beasts, what will become of this sect!"
"You're calling my disciple a beast! Watch your mouth, Elder Sang! How can you speak that way!"
"Then what is he, if not a beast! It's just lamentable that there is no worse word than beast for a bastard who stabs his junior and senior brothers alike in the back!"
Elder Baek, feeling the overheated atmosphere, reached out his hand and shouted.
"Elder Sang! That's enough! You go too far!"
Another elder yelled at Elder Baek with an excited face.
"You shut up! You bastard, you spat in Grandmaster's face, and from the moment you had the audacity to insist on making your own disciple the direct disciple, I should have figured you out! If you're a human being, take responsibility for this catastrophe and step down from the elder position at once!"
Elder Baek couldn't back down after hearing that. He shouted.
"Don't talk shamelessly! How is this my fault? You're all filled with greed for the direct disciple position and acting as you please!"
Elder Sang pushed Elder Baek and said.
"Are you saying you're not like that? Go on, keep talking! Tell me you had no greed whatsoever! Say you weren't even thinking about the direct disciple position!"
"Let go of me! How dare you lay hands on someone so rudely! Ah!"
Elder Baek didn't back down and pushed Elder Sang away while shouting. When he pushed Elder Sang back with inner energy, the table collapsed and Elder Sang tumbled over.
Wajangchang!
"Aigoo!"
The utensils on the table shattered, and Elder Sang screamed. Elder Baek snorted and glared at him. Elder Sang wiped the blood from his mouth, got up, and charged at Elder Baek, grabbing him by the collar.
"Alright! Let's finish this!"
The other elders standing nearby also got into arguments. In a highly excited state, one struck another elder's chest with his hand and shoved his shoulder while shouting.
"Isn't this mess your disciple's fault?!"
The opponent grabbed him by the collar and shouted back without backing down.
"Don't talk nonsense! Why blame me because your disciple is so weak-hearted that he's holed up in a room! You'd better end up just like that bastard Jong Yuseop of the Zhongnan Sect!"
"Are you spouting whatever comes out of that hole? I'll kill you! I'll kill you! Uwaaaaa!"
With screams and scuffles, the meeting room turned into a complete mess. All the ornate decorations were toppled, the ceiling-mounted light fixture fell and shattered. They used plates as weapons to strike heads, and lamps grabbed as clubs were swung.
"You oooooold man!"
"Uwaaaaa!"
Ujikkeun!
Kung!
Kwang!
In the very heart of the Taiji Sect, a true pandemonium erupted.