Is There Anyone in the World Who Knows Me? (12)
Is There Anyone in the World Who Knows Me? (12)
"Did you hear the rumor? They say that while carrying out a commission for Venerable Geumbok, Jong Yuseop, the direct disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, went and smashed some imported ceramics."
"Ah, I heard that rumor too. What did they say? That a geyser erupted on Lesser Mount Hua and overturned his cart?"
"No, has there ever been a geyser on Lesser Mount Hua?"
"Hah, like hell there ever was. I have a relative living near Lesser Mount Hua, and there's no such thing as a geyser there. So I heard that Im Jong-mu, who lives in Yeonan, absolutely blew his top, bellowing that he'd grind Venerable Geumbok up and drink him down."
"Good heavens. He entrusted the job on good faith, and now the goods are shattered and he gets some absurd excuse in return—he must be utterly dumbfounded."
"That's exactly the problem. All the gentlemen who'd been trading goods through Venerable Geumbok are clamoring to cancel everything because of it. That bastard Jong Yuseop must be giving him one hell of a headache."
"Well, if you raised him like a son, you've got to carry him like one too—what else can you do? Bwahahaha!"
"Good lord, that wretched little miser. Couldn't happen to a nicer bastard! Bwahahaha!"
*******
"This was a plot! A geyser suddenly bursting forth from a place with no such thing—how does that make any sense? There's no doubt that a master capable of manipulating the earth veins targeted my cart and orchestrated this!"
At Jong Yuseop's words, Jonghwan narrowed his eyes. He passed a hand over his face for a moment, then looked at Jong Yuseop again. Sometimes, Jonghwan found himself genuinely wondering how his son had ever become a martial artist. He himself had trained in martial arts and risen to the rank of peak master, yet his son's fragile mentality and absurd flights of fancy never seemed to change in the slightest.
"Yuseop. Do you have any idea what you're saying right now?"
"What else could it be? If not that, then how could a geyser possibly erupt all of a sudden in a place that's never seen a drop of water in its life...!"
Jong Yuseop was seriously contemplating the involvement of some party. But Jonghwan could only furrow his brow, for Jong Yuseop's argument had a flaw.
"Very well, let's assume it happened just as you say, because some mighty master manipulated the earth veins. So then, just why would such a master do something like that to you?"
Jong Yuseop rolled his eyes at Jonghwan's question. He had tossed out the theory of a master's intervention, but he could not answer the question. A master possessing enough might to control the earth veins—what possible reason could he have to summon a geyser?
The reason Jong Yuseop came up with was this:
"....He must hold a grudge against the Zhongnan Sect."
Jonghwan let out a sigh. He clutched his head once more and scratched so fiercely he nearly pulled out some of his gray hairs. Then he looked straight at Jong Yuseop again and spoke.
"Fine, let's say there exists some prodigious master, just as you claim. Let's say the bastard holds a grudge against the Zhongnan Sect too. And the act that this man, with all his stupendous inner power, chooses to commit is... blasting pressurized water to flip a cargo cart? Do you truly believe that? That a martial master so intent on tormenting you would neither smash your dantian to cripple you nor attack Venerable Geumbok, but simply shoot water and overturn a cart as his revenge?"
"...Having reconsidered, it seems that is not the case."
Jong Yuseop lowered his head and said so. When he calmly followed the thread of Jonghwan's reasoning, it truly felt like groundless nonsense. Indeed, who would do such a thing? A master capable of manipulating the earth veins takes revenge on Jong Yuseop by flipping his cart simply because he disliked him?
Jonghwan pressed on in a sterner tone.
"Because of the mess you made, every plan tied to the Zhongnan Sect's alliance has fallen apart, and we are in chaos. In this situation, rather than reflecting on your mistakes, you indulge in absurd delusions of some master chasing after you?"
"....I'm sorry."
"Of course you ought to be sorry! Venerable Geumbok! I! We both entrusted you with this task, placing great expectations upon you! And look! You couldn't even transport cargo by cart without ruining it! And when told to receive a guest and speak with him, you sent the guest crashing to the floor and left him a chronic invalid! Are you truly the direct disciple of the Zhongnan Sect? Huh? You lost your head over some Southern Barbarian wench, making a fool of yourself, and then locked yourself in your room, blubbering because she dumped you by letter! And now you can't even own up to your mistakes, so you invent a martial master who doesn't even exist to force a nonsensical excuse!"
Jonghwan glared at Jong Yuseop, his eyes blazing red. Jong Yuseop could not meet that gaze and bowed his head. His vision swam. Every time Jonghwan dredged up past blunders, he saw his mistakes flash vividly before him once more.
"....I'm sorry."
"Look at Zhuge Yeong-yu of the Zhuge Family! Huh! He's around your age! And yet, right now, isn't he running himself ragged smoothing over every single incident you've caused! I have always told you not to train only your body, but to also devote yourself to scholarship and become a judicious man! And because you couldn't manage that, you shame me like this!"
"....I'm... sorry...."
Jong Yuseop barely managed to hold back his tears. Every word of his father's sharp criticism was utterly correct, but coming from a father to a son, it was filled with words he could not bear to hear. Even as his shoulders trembled, he fought to suppress his breath.
"This time as well, it was Zhuge Yeong-yu who procured a replacement for the item you destroyed and soothed the deeply enraged client. As an elder of the sect, do you know what a disgrace it is to have the misdeeds of your own direct disciple shouldered by another family?"
Jong Yuseop did not answer. It did not seem Jonghwan had spoken expecting an answer from him anyway. He leaned back against the backrest and continued.
"I intend to speak with Venerable Geumbok and remove you from this plan."
"What?"
Jong Yuseop flinched in shock and asked again. As if he had not anticipated Jong Yuseop's resistance, Jonghwan raised an eyebrow slightly, his face furrowing, and spoke.
"What is there to be so shocked about? You've already committed two fatal mistakes—on what grounds do you try to push yourself forward in a critical matter? If I merely shield you just because you're my son, what will the people of the world say about me?"
Jong Yuseop's voice grew more urgent. His face reddened and his tongue stumbled.
"F-F-Father! You know how much this matter means to me!"
Jonghwan replied with a sterner voice.
"To me? To Venerable Geumbok? Did it hold no meaning at all? To the people of the Zhongnan Sect and those who run the merchant guild—was it a meaningless task? It is precisely because I know what meaning it holds, and to whom, that I am saying I will remove you. How can I entrust the vanguard of a grave responsibility to a weakling who sinks into despondency every time he fails and locks himself in his room?"
"P-p-please give me just one more chance! Father!"
Jong Yuseop slid from his chair and knelt before Jonghwan. His limbs trembling pitifully, he looked up with eyes full of fear. He reached out his hands and begged pathetically, bowing his back like a fly.
"F-F-Father. P-p-please, j-just one more chance! If I am cast out after only failures, what will the people of the world say about me? What will the people of the Zhongnan Sect say?"
Jonghwan did not answer. He merely knit his brow and stared quietly down at Jong Yuseop. On the verge of tears, Jong Yuseop clutched at Jonghwan's trouser leg and implored.
"Father! I-I-I might truly die. P-p-please, just one more chance! This time I can do it well, without mistake! It's just that e-escort missions and the like don't suit me! Haven't I done well until now? N-n-now that my internal injuries are healed and my body is fine, I will go on this expedition! Hm?"
Jonghwan stroked his chin.
No matter how pitiable Jong Yuseop was, no matter how foolishly he behaved, in the end, he was his son. When he pleaded like this, even the upright and uncompromising Jonghwan could not help but be moved.
"Hmm...."
At the single sound Jonghwan let out, a host of emotions flickered across Jong Yuseop's face.
********
"Sect Leader Docheol. Word has come from our informant. Jong Yuseop is said to be planning to lead members of the Zhongnan Sect in an assault on the official post in Seokcheon."
"It's come a little early."
"It seems that with his reputation worsening after successive mission failures, he prepared this intending to at least soothe internal opinion about him."
The main body of the assault could not show its face. Accordingly, this mission was a move aimed at both improving Jong Yuseop's standing internally and seeking a change of atmosphere through expansion of power.
"What kind of person is that official?"
"A man steeped in corruption. He ought to have lost his head long ago, but he survived by spreading bribes everywhere and walking a tightrope so expertly."
"Jong Yuseop chose his man well this time."
"Do you have a plan?"
The Zhongnan Sect and Venerable Geumbok's method of expanding power.
They would disguise themselves as a bandit horde and raid a corrupt region with a poor reputation, then neutralize the official post. Afterward, a previously arranged 'martial master' would appear, subdue the region's bandit horde, and win the hearts of the local people.
Through this, they would create a situation where the sect's influence was greater than the official's, and by repeating it, place all of Shaanxi within Venerable Geumbok's grasp.
But this tiresome little play was now over.
'For the finale, I ought to send him off as a patriot.'