Martial Artist
Even among the rugged peaks of Sichuan, Mount Emei alone remained snug and still.
Pale mist drifted down from every summit. Quiet, elegant temples nestled along each mountain slope. And throughout the whole of the mountain, the deep toll of Buddhist bells rolled and echoed.
As befit a Buddhist sect whose lineage was carried on by women, the Emei Sect lay steeped in a peace where yesterday, today, and tomorrow were all the same.
But peace is hard to keep, and even a small squall can set it trembling. When the storm that had risen at the Wulin Alliance swept across the whole of the Central Plains, they too realized they could no longer cling to silence.
And so, just as they were preparing to break their long quiet and stir into motion, a party of figures arrived before the mountain gate, riding a gentle wind.
"We aren't as late as I feared."
A middle-aged man with shoulders broad enough that the great spear strapped across his back swayed heavily with every movement looked up at the peaks of Mount Emei and slowly worked the stiffness from his neck.
"If we hadn't had to go chasing after someone who ran off on her own, we would have arrived in four or five days, never mind seven."
The man who came up behind him, grumbling with a face full of discontent, still carried a trace of youth in his features.
"That someone who ran off was none other than your twin sister. How many times must I say it—stop treating Seo-a so harshly."
"But…"
"There is nothing more to discuss. You went too far this time."
When the middle-aged man cut him off with a stern look, the younger man finally bowed his head.
"…I apologize, Uncle."
"Enough. Do you think I don't understand how you feel? But Seo-a is more tender-hearted than you realize. Remember that not everyone in this world can be as strong as you."
"Yes."
While the two men spoke of Ak Seo-a, other martial artists with spears across their backs began to appear one by one.
"Captain, the First Unit of the Thunder Spear Corps has all arrived."
They wore composed expressions, yet beads of sweat they could not hide stood out clearly on their brows.
"You call yourselves the fighting force of the Great Shandong Ak Clan, and this is the face you make after a mere half-day of lightfoot technique? Looking at the lot of you, I can guess the rest well enough. When we return to the main house, training will increase—prepare yourselves."
As he snarled with a ferocious scowl, the martial artists' faces went pale in an instant.
Even now, training that began at first light only ended when the sun went down. If the load increased further, when would it ever end?
But their captain was a man who always kept his word once spoken, so the martial artists could only drop their gazes.
"…Yes, Captain."
Watching the uncle who, mere moments ago, had told him not to be so harsh now drive the martial artists like rats, Ak Ji-ho gave a slight shake of his head.
Well—with a temper like fire, of course he became sworn brothers with Father.
Even as he thought it, he failed to notice that he himself was no different, and a dry laugh was just about to surface when a refined voice brushed past his ear.
"Might you be the party from the Shandong Ak Clan who sent word ahead?"
He turned. A woman in a gray robe, her hair neatly coiled up, was approaching. A sword sheath hung neatly at her waist; from her measured stride and deeply settled gaze, she was unmistakably a nun of the Emei Sect.
"We are. I am Ak Ji-ho, Young Master of the Shandong Ak Clan. Circumstances kept us from arriving by the appointed day. I am ashamed."
When Ak Ji-ho clasped his fist in formal greeting and stated his identity, the woman also inclined her head slightly in reply.
"I am Seonhwa, a third-generation disciple of the Emei Sect. The Sect Leader and the elders were concerned that some mishap might have befallen you. I am glad to see you unharmed."
"…We caused needless worry. I must call on them and offer my apologies."
"Please do. I will escort you to the guest hall first. Rest there a while and shake off the dust of the road; the Sect Leader will summon the Young Master shortly."
"Understood. Should we leave our spears with someone else?"
He raised the awkward subject first, and Seonhwa's expression softened at once. She had fretted that the Young Master of the Shandong Ak Clan might prove arrogant, but fortunately every word he spoke was laced with consideration.
"I thank you for the thought, but it is unnecessary. Mutual respect does not begin with the unbuckling of a sword."
At Seonhwa's rather bold, pointed remark for a third-generation disciple, a faint smile touched the middle-aged man's lips.
"Indeed—the teachings of the Buddhist path seem rather different from those of the Daoist."
Not long after they had been shown to the guest hall, Ak Ji-ho followed Seonhwa—who had first guided them there—once more, this time toward the Hall of Righteous Discourse.
"Sect Leader. I have brought the Young Master of the Shandong Ak Clan."
"Show him in."
When Seonhwa carefully opened the door, Ak Ji-ho offered a brief word of thanks and stepped inside.
In the spacious chamber sat Jeonghwa, Sect Leader of the Emei Sect, alone. Even at rest, a subtle, profound aura flowed from her, as if it filled the entire space.
"Welcome. I am Jeonghwa, Sect Leader of the Emei Sect."
When the head of a great sect offered courtesy first, Ak Ji-ho hurriedly clasped his fist in return.
"I am Ak Ji-ho, Young Master of the Shandong Ak Clan. I pay my respects to the Sect Leader of Emei."
"Forgive me for summoning you before you could even rest from the journey. Age seems only to make one more impatient—it is embarrassing."
"Not at all. It is I who am ashamed for arriving later than planned."
Jeonghwa nodded at his words, yet still asked:
"I heard as much from the child outside. There was some difficulty on the road—is that true?"
The face of his sister, who had slipped away under cover of night, flashed through his mind, and Ak Ji-ho quietly set his teeth.
"…Yes. A minor matter related to the clan."
"Has it been resolved?"
"Not yet… but it is the sort of thing that will sort itself out, so I am not greatly concerned. Only, not everyone shared that view, and so our schedule was delayed."
Did he not realize that even as he spoke, his face was full of worry? Still, outsiders could not meddle in clan affairs, so Jeonghwa asked no further.
"Very well. Then let us turn, at last, to the reason you have come to our mountain."
Sensing an aura that had grown heavy and still, unlike a moment before, Ak Ji-ho carefully opened his mouth.
"Yes. First, I would be grateful if you would read this. It is a letter the Clan Head has sent to the Sect Leader."
"Very well."
Jeonghwa untied the cord that sealed the letter and at once unfolded it and read down the page.
"…So Zhongnan, Huashan, and even the Hebei Peng Clan have sided with the Alliance Leader. Not the most pleasant news, I must say."
A short sigh escaped her as she openly furrowed one corner of her brow.
The Hebei Peng Clan had always been close to the Wulin Alliance, so that much she had half expected—but she had never imagined that the whole of Shaanxi would throw its weight behind the Alliance Leader.
"…From time to time I find myself thinking: if only I had paid closer attention to the state of the Central Plains. If I had, might we not have stopped things before they came to this? Thoughts of that sort."
Knowing she did not expect an answer, Ak Ji-ho simply listened in silence to her lament.
"I know full well that regret cannot turn back what is done… and yet the regret remains. But do you know what troubles my heart still more?"
"…I would be grateful for the Sect Leader's teaching."
She tapped the table several times with a finger, steadied her breath, and then slowly continued.
"…No matter how many times I turn it over, I cannot bring myself to believe the Alliance Leader is entirely wrong."
"…"
"He said he would establish a new standard of righteousness within the Alliance. That every orthodox sect would be strictly governed within that frame, and that those who have long oppressed the weak while flying the banner of orthodoxy would pay a fitting price. And…"
The steady sound that had filled the room cut off at once.
"When the time comes, he will drive out the unorthodox and demonic forces that hold the lands south of the Yangtze and raise the banner of righteousness high over all under Heaven."
Jeonghwa's cool gaze turned on Ak Ji-ho as if it would pierce through to his true heart.
"Young Master—what do you make of the Alliance Leader's words?"
It was a clear test, so Ak Ji-ho did not rush. He carefully ordered the thoughts in his mind. And a moment later, words that might well harden into the official stance of the Shandong Ak Clan left his lips.
"If the Alliance not only sets the standard of righteousness but seeks to control everyone under it—"
This time Ak Ji-ho's firm gaze turned on Jeonghwa.
"—then who, exactly, is to control the Alliance?"
It struck precisely at the heart of the matter, and only then did a faint smile touch Jeonghwa's lips.
"…The Clan Head has raised you remarkably well."
"I am honored."
"But as I said earlier, there is clearly something right in the Alliance Leader's words. That is why we ourselves have yet to decide which side to take. Speak honestly. To the common people, do orthodox martial artists and unorthodox ones look so very different?"
"That is…"
"Whatever reasons we may offer, in their eyes we are nothing but ruffians who go about with swords at our sides. We merely put on a show of righteousness, and the powerless look the other way as best they can."
"…"
"The problem, as the Alliance Leader said, is that righteousness itself differs from person to person. And for every such difference, somewhere in the jianghu, it comes back as the suffering of ordinary people. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes. But…"
After a brief pause, a discontent suited to his age slipped from Ak Ji-ho's mouth.
"In that case, I think it would be better if every martial artist simply placed himself under the government. What value is there in a righteousness forced upon one by someone else?"
It was a remark worthy of the Shandong Ak Clan, long entangled with the authorities, and Jeonghwa could not help but laugh.
"Righteousness, and chivalry and honor as well, all matter—but in the end, what is most precious is freedom. You are right. Before orthodoxy and heresy, I had overlooked the fundamental banner a martial artist must uphold."