Sichuan Tang Clan (4)
Sichuan Tang Clan (4)
In a nameless hut on a nameless mountain, a man lived alone.
The man wore a patchy beard and tattered clothes, and his eyes, sunken in deep shadow and devoid of will, could startle anyone who saw him. He survived by gathering herbs and mushrooms from the mountain. He had an uncanny knack for distinguishing poisonous mushrooms from safe ones, and his deep knowledge of medicinal herbs let him earn a living by supplying fine herbs to the nearby apothecaries.
His name was Tang Yeong-hwan. Once, he had dedicated himself to poison research in the hope of leading the Tang Clan. Sometimes, memories of his days there would resurface. It was not the current Tang Clan he missed. It was the Tang Clan of that time, when he competed with his younger brother.
Back then, Tang Yeong-hwan and Tang Yeong-ju had shared a strong brotherly bond. Tang Yeong-ju trusted and followed his older brother, and Tang Yeong-hwan believed that even if he himself were pushed aside, his younger brother would make a fine clan head. Even if he ended up leaving the main family, he never once doubted that they would keep in touch and maintain good relations.
But on that day, everything changed.
Memory is like the waves, inevitably dragging in what you do not wish to see.
Whenever Tang Yeong-hwan recalled the Tang Clan of those days, a certain memory always came flooding back with it. That day thirteen years ago, when Tang Yeong-ju first showed him the subject of his research, Tang Yeong-hwan struck his brother for the first time.
"Yeong-ju. Have you gone mad? Huh? How can you wear a human face and attempt such a thing?"
"Brother. Why do you act this way? Once this is complete, no one will be able to look down on the Tang Clan anymore. Don't they call us gloomy bastards who only deal in poisons? No matter how high and mighty those wretches think they are, how dare they treat us like this? As it happens, the daughter of Tang Ui-gyeong of the collateral line has such exceptional talent...."
"Stop this! Stop it at once! This is no deed a human should commit! How could you, to a mere child...!"
In that moment, Tang Yeong-hwan grabbed Tang Yeong-ju by the collar. But Tang Yeong-ju could not understand him. Just as Yeong-hwan could not comprehend Yeong-ju, Yeong-ju could not comprehend what he himself had done wrong. He stared for a long while at the strong hand gripping him and at Yeong-hwan's twisted face. Then his expression softened, as if he finally understood, and he said to Yeong-hwan:
"Brother. Are you jealous of me right now?"
"Wh-what?"
In that instant, Yeong-hwan felt terror toward Yeong-ju. He had believed that even though his brother researched poisons, he still kept a human heart. But now he saw that Yeong-ju was crueler than anyone else—and that realization terrified him.
"Is this a notion you never even considered, Brother, and so you fear losing the seat of clan head? Brother. Don't worry. Even if I become clan head, I will have your family continue to live here with you. What kind of bond do we share?"
Yeong-ju was trying hard to understand Yeong-hwan. But his direction of understanding was so far off the mark that it only drove Yeong-hwan further away. Yeong-hwan could not understand it—not Tang Yeong-ju's brazen response, nor the face that watched his furious state and asked if he was jealous.
"You... what on earth are you saying right now?"
"Brother. Once it is complete, you will understand everything."
Yeong-ju spoke in a gentle tone, as if Yeong-hwan had not just been angry. Yeong-hwan was afraid of Yeong-ju. And he wished that the elders of the main family, that his father the current clan head, would stop Yeong-ju and scold him.
Of course, nothing of the sort happened.
******
"Elder Tang Yeong-hwan."
When Tang Yeong-hwan turned his head, a familiar uniform met his eyes. It was the attire worn by the servants of the Tang Clan. The servant was caked in dirt, as if he had endured considerable hardship, and a strained smile hung on his face. He bowed his head deeply, showing deference to Tang Yeong-hwan.
"...What is it?"
His words came just as a memory both longed for and foul had surfaced. The sight of the Tang Clan robes engraved that emotion deeper into Tang Yeong-hwan. The servant carefully offered his greeting and held out a single letter.
"What is this?"
"It is a letter sent by the Clan Head."
"Yeong-ju sent it to me? For what possible reason?"
The servant bowed his head once more and said,
"His third son, Young Master Man-u, is soon to come of age. The Clan Head said he wishes to see your face, Elder, after all this time."
"Come of age...."
Tang Yeong-hwan sank into his seat as he unfolded the letter. On the white paper, Tang Yeong-ju's unique, vigorous handwriting writhed like a dragon. The moment he saw that handwriting, Tang Yeong-hwan let out a laugh. He remembered Yeong-ju's brazen joke.
[They call the Tang Clan a snake, but since I carry a dragon inside me, I'll write with flashy strokes from the start.]
That was Yeong-ju—cracking such jokes while writing with a confident, flashy, rough brushstroke wherever he went. This handwriting of his remained vivid even in a letter to his brother, with the Eight Principles of the Character 'Yeong' sharply broken in places and traces of the brush pressing hard into the paper.
[Brother. It has been over ten years since we last saw each other's faces.
Now even my child has grown tall and become an adult.
An old saying goes that brothers in this world are hard to obtain,
while wealth is easy to acquire.
If we, born and raised as brothers on this earth, were to end our lives without ever seeing one another
because of past matters, would that not be an act against the Heavenly Ethics itself?
Brother. My children, too, wish to see you.
Why not show your face just once, and share a cup of wine together?
It is a matter over ten years old. Please understand me, if only a little, by now.]
Tang Yeong-hwan let out his breath. Without realizing it, he had held a great gulp of air while reading. The servant steadily watched Tang Yeong-hwan's expression, waiting, and Tang Yeong-hwan neatly folded the letter and set it down on the table. Then, closing his eyes, he said,
"Heavenly Ethics, he says."
Through his thinly narrowed eyes, old memories flickered past. Even though Tang Ui-gyeong had stubbornly refused to cooperate, Tang Yeong-ju did not give up. He planned to clear out Tang Ui-gyeong's house and bring the daughter back with him. By the time Tang Yeong-hwan caught wind of the plan and rushed over, acrid smoke was already pouring from the house, and Tang Ui-gyeong's drugged daughter was being dragged away helplessly.
[Yeong-ju! You! You carried out this deed!]
[Please be quiet, Brother. Why won't you understand me? How much longer will you live like this, under those who insult the Tang Clan as snake spawn? They say even a mere carp can leap the Dragon Gate and become a dragon. Then, should not we, who command Sichuan, also become dragons! Brother! Please, try to understand me! Once this succeeds, no one will be able to look down on us!]
"Yeong-ju. I don't know why you speak of Heavenly Ethics."
The events of that day remained vivid before his eyes. He had believed that even if the Tang Clan dealt closely with human death, there were lines that should and should not be crossed. He had even thought at times that he was walking the tightrope between them. But Yeong-ju was the sort of man who believed that for the Tang Clan to become the greatest, the rope itself must be cut so they could frolic without restraint beneath it.
To Yeong-ju, Heavenly Ethics was a concept that only applied to his own family.
"Tell him I will not return."
Tang Yeong-hwan said this and waved his hand. It was an order to depart. The exhausted, worn-down servant showed a regretful look at Tang Yeong-hwan's demeanor, then bowed his head deeply and faded into the distance. Tang Yeong-hwan clutched his head and let out a sigh.
Tang Ui-gyeong's household had been utterly ruined. The Tang Clan reported and settled the incident as an accident caused by mismanagement of snake venom. There was no further investigation, and Tang Ui-gyeong's entire family were listed as dead, with graves to mark their existence. Watching that scene unfold, Tang Yeong-hwan realized that everything was futile.
The ambition to become the head of the Tang Clan, and all illusions of wealth or power—they were all meaningless.
Even if they had value, was there truly a reason to go this far to possess them?
Tang Yeong-hwan had no answer to that question. So he took his family and fled the Tang Clan as if escaping. The Tang Clan people said Tang Yeong-hwan had been ousted after losing the rivalry, or that he had acknowledged the impossibility of victory and withdrawn of his own accord.
But that was not the reason Tang Yeong-hwan left the Tang Clan.
He was afraid of the Tang Clan.
Of Tang Yeong-ju, who so casually spearheaded a horrific plan. Of the elders and his own father, who assented to the plan and actively pushed Yeong-ju forward. Tang Yeong-hwan was terrified of every last bit of it.
After the Tang Clan servant left, Tang Yeong-hwan suffered through nightmares for days.
It was a dream of a little girl trapped underground, crying from hunger and fear. He struggled desperately to save her, but mired in a swamp, he could never reach the child.
And so time passed.
Around the time Tang Yeong-hwan was barely managing to shake free of the nightmares and foulness,
a visitor came to the mountain. It was a man with sharp eyes and a sharp jawline. He carried an axe at his waist, and his swaggering gait bore the peculiar balance of a martial artist. He stared straight at Tang Yeong-hwan and said,
"Good to meet you."
"...Who are you?"
"I am called Docheol. You are Tang Yeong-hwan, I presume?"
"...I know nothing."
Ignoring Tang Yeong-hwan's frigid tone, Docheol drew closer and said,
"Do you also know nothing about Tang Ui-gyeong?"
At those words, Tang Yeong-hwan's face hardened and he stared at Docheol. Docheol grinned.