Martial Arts Tournament (6)
Martial Arts Tournament (6)
"Uh, uhh...."
I wiped the blood streaming down my forehead. Dirt clotted next to my eye had been blocking my vision. When I scowled and looked at the referee, he was stammering, as if practicing his pronunciation, and staring at the VIP seats.
I followed the referee's gaze and looked at them.
"Hoo...."
"Hmm...."
"Ahem...."
Their expressions were a sight to behold. One man glared at me, his face contorted with such rage it looked like he wanted to kill me; another stroked his chin as if he'd just bitten into a bug. Someone else stood with arms crossed, nodding gravely, while Yeong-yu simply watched, eyes sparkling and smiling in good humor.
"Huh?"
When I recognized him and tilted my head, Yeong-yu waved his hand, urging me to look at him. I'd thought he was someone fairly important, but I hadn't expected him to be sitting in the VIP seats. I lightly bowed my head in greeting, then turned away.
"Hasn't the match been decided?"
"Ah, well, that's...."
When I asked the host, he looked back and forth between the fallen Tournament Killer and the VIP seats with a troubled expression. But the Tournament Killer's head had been split in half, spouting a pulsing fountain of blood, so there was no way he was coming back to life.
"So, well...."
The host checked the Tournament Killer's condition once, then turned his gaze back to the VIP seats. When a middle-aged man sitting there gestured and moved his lips, the host flinched in alarm and straightened his posture. Then, glancing at me for a moment, he began mumbling as if trying to say something.
"D-During the match...."
"What a splendid bout! Well fought!"
Before the host could finish, a bright voice rang out. Everyone in the spectator stands and the VIP seats focused their gaze on one point: a boy with delicate features was leaning against the railing and speaking to me. He had infused a bit of inner power into his voice, so his words echoed loudly across the martial arena with little effort.
It was Yeong-yu.
The man I'd conversed with at the inn was speaking to me with a highly satisfied face. Unsure how to react to his sudden interjection, I looked around for a moment, then expressed my gratitude.
"It is an honor that a master of great hero Yeong-yu's caliber would hold my skills in such high regard."
Yeong-yu nodded at my words and continued speaking.
"It is the Zhuge family's nature to be adept at recognizing talent. That aside, it was a truly close match. You must have had a difficult time facing an opponent who so blatantly tried to kill you during a bout."
The spectator stands stirred, and then the crowd nodded among themselves. Even in the spectators' eyes, the Tournament Killer had blatantly tried to kill me, and the host had stood by watching until I was on the verge of death.
When Yeong-yu emphasized that point, the host rolled his eyes, looking troubled.
"You whelp! By what authority do you dare interfere so recklessly? The tournament is still in progress, and a green young lad like you is acting rashly."
The middle-aged man in the VIP seats, his face flushed bright red, shouted at Yeong-yu. He was openly displaying his displeasure, and the tendons bulging on the back of his hand made it look as if he might strike at any moment.
At this, Yeong-yu immediately bowed his head and said,
"My apologies, Elder. It seems I grew excited at the rare sight of a fine martial artist and committed a discourtesy. But was it not a truly remarkable match, as you saw for yourself? Refusing to yield against an opponent who sought to kill you, and turning the tables—it is a sight worthy of setting an example for other martial artists."
The middle-aged man did not reply. He stared blankly at Yeong-yu, then his lips twitched. Yeong-yu shook his head with a twitch of his eyes and began moving his lips just the same. After an unspoken exchange, the middle-aged man let out a deep sigh and rose from his seat.
At that sight, the host finally wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and addressed the spectators.
"Th-The winner, Crimson Ring Sect Leader Docheol!"
It was the perfect moment to say "I learned a great deal," and wrap things up warmly, but the opponent I was supposed to exchange greetings with had become a corpse sprawled on the ground. So instead, I waved my hand and basked in the jeers and cheers of the spectators while Tournament Killer's corpse was stuffed into a burlap sack and dragged away.
For the Murim Alliance's hidden ace, it was a shabby end.
*******
"To achieve a breakthrough in the middle of that match. How astonishing."
Back at the inn, I lay down while a physician Yeong-yu had summoned examined me. Yeong-yu paid no mind to my reclining position and spoke to me in a friendly tone. I wondered if it was acceptable to act so casually in front of someone stronger than me, but since he didn't seem to mind, I continued the conversation lying down.
"I was surprised too. It was like my eyes suddenly snapped open, and my movements changed."
"It would be best to keep grasping that sensation and devote yourself to training for the time being. Holding onto the enlightenment you've gained and building upon it—that is the most crucial thing in martial arts training."
I looked at Yeong-yu. Lying face-down, I was in a strange posture, like getting a massage at a parlor and glancing at the customer beside you. Yeong-yu sat with his legs crossed and met my gaze squarely. He smiled and said,
"Why do you look at me so?"
"Why are you being so good to me?"
Truth be told, I'd been curious ever since the inn. Back then I'd dismissed it as empty words of goodwill, but now that he'd called a physician and was giving me training advice, I couldn't help but be suspicious.
There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
No one is good to you simply because they like you.
If something benefits me, it naturally benefits the other party as well. And even if getting close to me benefits them, that doesn't necessarily mean it benefits me.
Exchanging goodwill always presupposes a complex, underhanded struggle.
But beating around the bush with someone stronger than me was impossible.
It was better to confirm his objective directly.
"You're direct. I don't dislike such people."
Yeong-yu showed no sign of taking offense at my blunt question. Instead, he nodded with a smile, then tapped the physician's shoulder and said,
"You, step outside for a moment."
The physician who had been in the middle of examining me disappeared outside the room without a word. After the door closed, Yeong-yu looked at me again and placed his hands on his lap.
"Have you ever thought that everything in the world is going wrong?"
His first question was different from what I had expected. I tilted my head and asked back,
"What do you mean?"
"Just as I said. Have you ever felt that this world is heading down the wrong path? Far from setting the order of the world under heaven right, the Murim Alliance neglects evil deeds, swayed by money and hollow fame. The sight of them stealthily crossing the boundary of Government-Murim Inviolability—lately, it has become quite natural."
"In that sense, I do feel that things are strange."
I nodded. The world was definitely strange. The martial artists who supposedly walked the righteous path were all staking their lives on money, and Venerable Geumbok, who wasn't even a martial artist, was using members of the Murim Alliance at his whim. Righteous martial artists were hard to find, and it was becoming common for sects to be openly run as businesses, collecting taxes in place of the government.
Something was odd. An ominous shadow was spreading over the world, as if the Murim Alliance was trying to devour everything under heaven.
Yeong-yu stared into empty air and said,
"I came to think that someone must set this situation right. The martial world has grown too large and corrupt, and the imperial household has no power, being pushed around at will. If it is not set right now, it will become uncontrollable."
".....Are you saying you want to involve me in that plan?"
He hadn't stated his main point, but it was clear what Yeong-yu wanted. Yeong-yu nodded and said,
"Correct. But are you not equally dissatisfied with the current situation? Venerable Geumbok will continue to torment you. Can you break through this predicament with your strength alone? This is an arrangement that benefits us both. Our goals are the same, after all."
"Pushing out Venerable Geumbok?"
"Excellent."
He praised me as if complimenting a kindergartner. It wasn't pleasant, since it felt like I'd just guessed an obvious answer. He stroked his own knee and said,
"I don't think you will refuse."
I looked at Yeong-yu. He was laughing cheerfully, but his eyes gleamed with shrewd intelligence. The more I studied him, the more I felt he was someone I couldn't afford to let my guard down around. I asked,
"....Why did you come to hold such thoughts?"
"Just as our ancestors did—it is the natural duty of a martial artist who walks the righteous path, and one who bears the surname Zhuge (諸葛)."
Having said that, he looked down at me again and said,
"So, what do you plan to do, Sect Leader Docheol?"
It was not something I could decide alone.
Pushing aside the complicated thoughts rising in my head, I carefully spoke to him.
"....Give me time to think. I should return to the sect and ponder this a bit. It doesn't seem like a matter to be decided on the spot like this."
"Think it over slowly. I will come visit the sect at a later time."
Having said that, Yeong-yu rose from his seat.