60. Ruins (4)
Ruins (4)
60. Ruins (4)
The White Feather Fan floated gently in the air. Once she stopped crying, Master bowed several times toward it, held the fan, and continued a long conversation with Hwangseong.
This was a little awkward. While Master communicated with Hwangseong, I couldn't hear their conversation, yet the nature of the Spirit Vessel Art required me to keep the entire process within my field of vision.
"Yeongmok. Please gather the disciples."
After finishing her conversation with Hwangseong, Master fixed me with a determined gaze and finally displayed something resembling a sect leader's dignity. At last, I was free from that bizarre, excessively respectful 'Disciple'—an address unheard of anywhere else in the martial world.
"Yes. Understood, Master. While you're at it, please drop the formal speech."
"That is a little difficult. Yeongmok is the man who will one day become my husband. Lowering my speech to you now would make my heart uncomfortable."
Her face held the dignity of a sect leader, yet she spoke to me with the soft voice of a lover. Well, she'd taken a step forward, so I had to be content with that for now.
Cho-ryeong played like a child with the toys the bandits had brought, while Jeong-hyang kept her company. There was more food to prepare, but Ban Ho-jeong handled the washing and other chores, allowing Lee Eun-ha to rest comfortably in the sleeping quarters for the first time in ages. Son Yeong remained deep in thought, periodically rising to swing her sword before returning to contemplation. All four were startled when I told them Master had summoned them. Master had done many absurd things to me, but she had never used me as an errand boy.
Only a few days had passed since Yeongsan Sect burned and Master was dragged away by Heuk Cheon-gyeon. Fearing another problem—or that Master was suffering—the women rushed to the platform serving as our temporary tearoom.
Master gathered her breath, explained the Spirit-Binding Art that Hwangseong and I had revealed, and told them she had met the founder. The story was absurd enough that even young Cho-ryeong struggled to believe it. But as she placed the White Feather Fan in each of their hands and allowed them to meet Hwangseong, just as I had done, they could only accept the truth of the Spirit-Binding Art.
"The founder personally changed the sect rules so women could become disciples of Yeongsan Sect from now on. So I intend to become a Daoist. Once the ruined grounds are cleared and the Great Clarity Palace has been rebuilt, I'll perform the ceremony."
"Congratulations, Master."
"So that's how it was. Then the sword wrapped in flame that my junior brother wields truly does have the soul of a peerless master dwelling within it."
"I've wanted to make Master Taoist robes for a long time. Vice-Fortress Leader Ban is skilled with animal hides, and I hear her sewing is excellent. I should learn from her."
"Wow! Now our Yeongsan Sect will have two Taoists!!"
The four disciples each reacted in their own way.
"After me, I'll allow Hyang to become a Daoist too, but she will have to wait a little."
"It doesn't matter at all to me."
Jeong-hyang smiled serenely. She was already called a celestial maiden and was even receiving prayers, yet unlike Master, she didn't attach great meaning to becoming a Taoist.
"Hm? It's natural for Master to become a Taoist first, but our Junior Brother already is one. Would it not be fine for Senior Sister Jeong to become one immediately as well?"
Lee Eun-ha tilted her head. She had a point. Yeongsan Sect already treated its tangled seniority as normal, so why delay Jeong-hyang's ceremony now?
"Mm... you see, mine will take a long time to grow back. I can cut Hyang's pubic hair to make my fan, but then we must wait for mine to regrow before making hers."
As expected, Master produced another piece of nonsense. This crucial moment in Yeongsan Sect's reestablishment was embarrassingly turning into a discussion about pussy hair.
"If that's the case, I will give you my pubic hair."
"I'll give you mine as well."
"Mm. I don't have any yet..."
At Master's words, two of them offered their own pubic hair. Cho-ryeong didn't have any yet. That made sense. A twelve-year-old girl reaching puberty amid twenty-first-century abundance and a malnourished child in the fifteenth century could not mature at the same rate.
"No. I can't allow it for Yeong or Eun-ha."
"Why? You said you'd cut Senior Sister Jeong's to make Master's White Feather Fan."
"Here's the thing. I heard it from Vice-Fortress Leader Ban. Most men, you see, dislike a woman without pubic hair."
"I know that, but what about Senior Sister Jeong?"
"Hyang and I are fine. Anything beyond that is a secret."
Master glanced at me with faintly flushed cheeks. Ah. Unlike me, who was perfectly fine with a bare pussy, she wanted Son Yeong and Lee Eun-ha to remain mindful because they might marry other men someday.
"Master. If that's so, when would I be able to become a Taoist?"
Son Yeong quietly asked Master.
"Yeong, you're still more interested in martial arts than Taoist arts. Don't rush; take your time and think carefully about whether you truly want to become a Taoist."
Master and Jeong-hyang even looked faintly proud. Since the Yin Blossom Art was technically a Taoist art, they considered themselves students of Taoist arts while Son Yeong cared only for martial arts. Their childish thoughts were obvious from their confident expressions, but on my lovers, those faces only looked adorable.
Of course, someone always had to ruin a warm and peaceful atmosphere. Hearing a commotion, I headed toward the main gate intending to smack a few bandit bastards and found several strangers instead.
Neat scholar's robes, refined eyes, and solid bearing. Several men who looked like genuine models of orthodox martial artists—like the Murong Clan's warriors, rather than my father's superficial pretense—were arguing with Byeok-geum at the gate.
"No, I'm telling you, our hyung is really busy right now. Who just shows up without a prior appointment? Don't you people know what courtesy is?"
"Is that person your hyung, Fortress Leader Byeok? He doesn't appear particularly busy to me."
"No! Hyung! What am I supposed to look like if you come out like this?"
What the hell was wrong with this lunatic now?
"I am Kwon Yisan of the Martial Alliance Liaoning Branch. I hail from the Kunlun Sect."
The man greeted me with a cupped-fist salute. The Martial Alliance and the Kunlun Sect—his introduction could hardly have been grander. He spoke with forced courtesy, but was he telling us to know our place and crawl?
"I am Yeongmok of Yeongsan Sect."
I returned the cupped-fist salute. He then spoke stiffly, wearing a businesslike expression.
"I have come here while investigating the recent Heavenly Wolf Sect incident. As this is a matter for the Alliance, I ask for your cooperation."
"Cooperation? What kind of cooperation do you mean?"
"Heuk Cheon-gyeon recently settled in Liaoxi and founded the Heavenly Wolf Sect. Expecting great upheaval in Liaoning's martial world, our Liaoning Branch watched the Heavenly Wolf Sect while the Murong Clan watched the Black Heaven Association. A few days ago, however, the Heavenly Wolf Sect was annihilated. Witnesses also claim Fortress Leader Byeok moved the treasure from its empty grounds. It was not for the Orthodox Faction to interfere in a conflict between unorthodox forces, but Heuk Cheon-gyeon was one of the Top Hundred Masters. Given Fortress Leader Byeok's martial level, the result should have been the reverse.
"I came here to investigate, but Fortress Leader Byeok claims White Tiger Fortress is no longer an unorthodox faction or a Green Forest bandit group, but a subordinate force of Yeongsan Sect newly settled here. I therefore wish to meet your Sect Leader and hear what happened."
The martial artist named Kwon Yisan delivered a long explanation. What position did he hold in the branch? While pretending to be polite, he naturally ordered us around, disguising commands as requests for cooperation.
"I refuse. We are most certainly an orthodox faction, as descendants of the Maoshan Sect, but we have never joined the Alliance. Master was abducted by Heuk Cheon-gyeon and endured great suffering before barely returning. I do not wish to reawaken the unpleasant memories of that time."
My firm refusal left Kwon Yisan visibly flustered.
Was this bastard joking right now? How dare he come to another sect's grounds uninvited and say he wants to see the Sect Leader? By comparison, the bandit bastard Byeok-geum actually looked like the sensible one.
"This is not a personal matter, but a major undertaking of the Alliance. If you do not cooperate, I have no choice but to report to my superiors that Yeongsan Sect refuses to cooperate."
"Do so."
"Are you sincere? Is that your opinion alone, or truly the opinion of the entire Yeongsan Sect?"
"Your opinion? Has this bastard gone mad?"
Byeok-geum flew into a rage at the man's discourteous words and behavior.
"Watch your mouth, Fortress Leader Byeok. The Green Forest Chief's expulsion decree has reached the Liaoning Branch as well. You are no longer part of the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds; you could face subjugation overnight."
"Oh dear. How terrifying. Why don't you try it?"
"I do not know by what means you survived against Heuk Cheon-gyeon, but your confidence is excessive."
"Of course it is. White Tiger Sect is now under Yeongsan Sect. We have Yeongsan Sect behind us now, I tell you. If you're so confident, bring everyone right now, from your branch head down to your gatekeeper."
Byeok-geum's confidence reached the heavens, leaving Kwon Yisan more than a little unsettled.
"We have no need for investigations or anything of the sort. The Heavenly Wolf Sect. I annihilated it. I killed Heuk Cheon-gyeon and the Black Swordsmen, and I made White Tiger Fortress submit. There. You've heard the answer you wanted, so now go back."
"Y... you did? That's impossible. With barely ten years of internal energy, how could you?"
Aha. He had measured my internal energy and decided he could be rude. Martial artists were broadly divided into first-, second-, and third-class. The simple standard was Sword Aura for first-class, Sword Qi for second-class, and inability to produce even Sword Qi for third-class. More precisely, third-class meant containing internal energy in the body, second-class meant controlling it, and first-class meant mastering it. A third-class practitioner who could not channel qi into fingertips or a sword point could not conceal their aura. A second-class practitioner could suppress it deliberately, but could not hide every trace of internal energy.
Unlike Kwon Yisan, Byeok-geum did not find it strange that he could sense only a meager ten years of internal energy from me. A first-class master who had completely mastered internal energy could conceal every trace of it or perform the uncanny feat of revealing only as much as he wished. Byeok-geum had personally witnessed the Flame Emperor's fire-laced Sword Aura and the catastrophe at the Heavenly Wolf Sect. Naturally, he believed I was a first-class master deliberately displaying only ten years of strength to others.
"Whether it is a lie or not, you will find out before long. Whether the Black Heaven Association Leader or the Bloodslaying Sword, once they hear news of Heuk Cheon-gyeon, they will come here to crush Yeongsan Sect and White Tiger Fortress.
"Well, Great Hero Kwon, you are of the Orthodox Faction, but I suppose you'll have to root for the Black Heaven Association."
"What do you mean? That I should root for the Black Heaven Association?"
"Will you be all right? Even when Heuk Cheon-gyeon brazenly founded a sect here in Liaoning, you were too afraid to do anything. Nor can you expect aid from the Martial Alliance headquarters while it devotes itself to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
"I understand your position. But if I, the man who destroyed the Heavenly Wolf Sect, also crush the Black Heaven Association, are you confident you can bear the consequences of your discourtesy today?"
"D... discourtesy?"
"Did you truly not even know it was discourtesy? Yeongsan Sect may be small, but it seems you truly looked down on us.
"Great Hero Kwon.
"Could you go to the Murong Clan right now and tell Clan Head Murong Hyeok-jung to come out? Could you address Beautiful Madness Murong Rin as casually as you addressed me?"
"What kind of..."
Kwon Yisan was at a loss for words, but he stared at me as if I were absurd. He knew he had been discourteous, but his eyes said: Do you think you have the same standing as the Murong Clan?
This was what made the martial world so fucked up. It ran entirely on the logic of strength. The strong could mistreat the weak, and I agreed with that much. The problem was that no one remained eternally strong or weak. When power shifted, anyone who failed to read the situation could truly die. In that sense, Byeok-geum—who had adapted to the new power faster than anyone—was, despite his appearance, an exceptionally seasoned man of the martial world.
"Please leave. As you came without an appointment, I will not see you off.
"And Byeok-geum, go to the village and buy plenty of cloth. White and black, along with cloth in various colors suitable for Master and my Senior Sisters—not for me."
"Oh! We were just planning to go ourselves. We're not bandits anymore, but since we're still wearing leather clothes every day, all sorts of strange people come picking fights. Our Banmae's sewing skills are quite incredible. Now that we've renamed ourselves White Tiger Sect, I thought about going with white martial uniforms, but since white clothes in the mountains get dirty all too easily, I simply settled on the tiger's yellow.
"Now, when people see the disciples of our White Tiger Sect in yellow martial uniforms, no one will be able to call us bandits."
"That's literally the Yellow Turbans."
"What's wrong with that? In the end, didn't the Yellow Turbans follow the Way of Great Peace too? We're now in the position of serving Yeongsan Sect, a Taoist sect, so wouldn't it be fitting in its own way?"
While Byeok-geum and I traded pointless jokes, the visitors were treated as though they didn't exist. Ordinarily, they would have displayed their power and taught a whelp like me to fear the world, but Byeok-geum was no pushover. Heuk Cheon-gyeon was unquestionably dead, and both Yeongsan Sect and White Tiger Fortress—his victims—had survived. They therefore could not categorically dismiss even my absurd claim that I had killed him. If they denied it and my warning proved true, a nightmare would descend not only on Kwon Yisan, but the entire Liaoning Branch.
After struggling with the dilemma for a long time, Kwon Yisan finally trudged down the mountain with powerless steps.