Chapter 254. Among the Hundred Schools
I had no intention of returning just like that, so I headed to a nearby inn. On the way, the martial artists I passed seemed, if anything, more skilled than the disciples training at the Unhyang Sect, which left me feeling slightly bewildered.
The Ghost Demon asked me,
“Why?”
I stopped and stared blankly at the back of a man walking past.
“Nothing.”
There was a faint sense of incongruity, but I could not tell what caused it. Since the merchants did not look like merchants, I memorized several of their faces.
After sitting at an outdoor table at the inn and ordering wine, the Ghost Demon carefully opened the box and checked the silver.
“It’s perfectly fine silver.”
The reason I had left the Unhyang Sect quietly was because Sect Leader Yeo Unbyeok had maintained his courtesy to the very end.
He had courtesy, of course, but also skill. A master with no reason to serve beneath the New Southern Six Dragons was cooperating with Yongmun’s Greatest Sword, so I had no choice but to be suspicious.
I gathered together what I had additionally learned about the scholar faction and explained it to the two of them.
After listening, the Ghost Demon crossed his arms and said,
“...So at the very least, there are more masters on the same level as the White-Robed Scholar. And this is an organization where even the scholars compete with or oppose one another?”
“Rather than compete or oppose one another, it would be more fitting to say they’re independent.”
The Lust Demon asked,
“What are the chances they’re public enemies of murim?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.”
We fell silent while the waiter appeared and set down the wine and side dishes.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
If the Demon Cult and the scholars fought, whose side should I take?
Would standing by and watching be the correct answer? Out of nowhere, one term came to mind.
‘A localized war.’
There were scholar forces hiding their identities within the Orthodox Path and the Black Path. If they had clashed with the Demon Cult in my previous life...
That, too, would have been a localized war.
There had been many incidents and conflicts in the gangho.
But if the meaning of that localized war had been the Cult Leader versus the scholar faction, then the gangho of my previous life had in truth been divided between the Cult Leader and the scholar faction. If anything, after the Beggars’ Gang Leader disappeared and the Murim Alliance and the Orthodox Path coalition lost their strength, there would have been little they could do.
Had the struggles beneath the surface of the gangho been fiercer than I had thought?
Calling it a struggle beneath the surface was one thing, but in truth, it had been no different from a tournament bracket where they competed for supremacy. After all, it would be right to say that even the Beggars’ Gang Leader, one of the Three Talents, had fallen in that conflict.
I smelled the wine the Ghost Demon poured for me, then set it back down.
After checking for poison, the Ghost Demon shook the wine off the silver needle and said,
“Drink. Shall we return as we are?”
I nodded.
“For now, let’s return like this. Training seems to come first. With Alliance Leader Im as well...”
When I stopped speaking, the Ghost Demon and the Lust Demon turned their heads and watched the street. The moment we decided to retreat as we were, Unhyang Sect Leader Yeo Unbyeok appeared alone.
He had appeared from the road we had come by, and I could see the passersby stepping aside to the left and right.
Yeo Unbyeok approached our table and said with his hands clasped behind his back,
“I thought you would be nearby. May I join you?”
I pulled out the chair beside me and nodded.
“By all means.”
Once the four of us sat around the small table, it was extremely cramped. To give an idea of how cramped it was, if we unleashed palm force at one another, our palms would stick together immediately.
The Ghost Demon picked up the wine bottle.
“Have a cup.”
Yeo Unbyeok nodded and held out an empty cup. As he received the wine with one hand, Yeo Unbyeok looked at us.
“...”
Each of us lifted our cups, then emptied a cup of wine without offering a toast or saying anything like that it was good to meet.
Because the atmosphere was such that someone might die while drinking.
Yeo Unbyeok set down his cup and said,
“All three of you seem quick on the uptake, so there isn’t much appropriate for me to say.”
The Lust Demon immediately threw out a question.
“Who are you? I’m not looking down on the Unhyang Sect, but your skill isn’t the sort that should have you merely sitting in the position of Unhyang Sect Leader.”
Yeo Unbyeok looked at the Lust Demon.
“Young Master Mong, that sort of question is not very helpful to a conversation.”
The Ghost Demon said,
“There are many masters in the Orthodox Path who dislike being known. But if you are a master of the Demonic Path, then I suspect there will be some trouble between us.”
This time as well, Yeo Unbyeok answered.
“How could the gangho be divided only into the Orthodox Path, the Black Path, and the Demonic Path? It must be far more varied than that.”
I also threw out a question.
“...Why did you follow us out?”
Yeo Unbyeok answered,
“My heart felt uneasy, so I impulsively followed you.”
“What made you uneasy?”
Yeo Unbyeok said something unexpected to me.
“I had heard you were impatient, so I was flustered when I saw you simply withdraw.”
“Hmm. According to the news in the gangho, I’ve become some excited fellow, is that it?”
The Ghost Demon and the Lust Demon wore sour expressions at my nonsense.
Yeo Unbyeok said,
“Rumors and reality often differ.”
Since I did not clearly know Yeo Unbyeok’s identity, I thought the right answer in moments like this was to just throw things out there.
“Sect Leader Yeo, what is your relationship with the Heavenly Evil Scholar?”
Sect Leader Yeo’s gaze changed very faintly. His brow also narrowed for an instant before returning to normal. This was an instinctive reaction that could not be controlled by emotion.
In truth, my conjecture ended there.
After spouting nonsense and then hitting the mark, he likely had no mental leeway to prepare himself. In other words, this bastard was, for now, a member of the scholar faction.
Yeo Unbyeok muttered,
“Well, now. That was quite the ambush. I heard rumors that you were clever, but to be honest, rather than clever, you are simply far too unexpected.”
“I am rather like that.”
As I gauged Yeo Unbyeok’s skill, this thought came to mind. For now, I was confident I would not die. However, even if we fought three against one, there was a chance the Ghost Demon or the Lust Demon would be injured.
Because right now, the Ghost Demon and the Lust Demon were beneath both me and Yeo Unbyeok.
I spoke first.
“Since you’ve been caught anyway, let’s speak frankly from now on.”
“...”
“The White-Robed Scholar, the Heavenly Evil Scholar, and the Blind Scholar once attacked the Beggars’ Gang Leader. I don’t know whether you know that, but for some reason, it’s a story I feel like telling you.”
Yeo Unbyeok looked at me.
“What happened?”
“Is that news you don’t know?”
“I know, but I cannot believe every bit of news I hear secondhand. How could one believe everything one has not seen with one’s own eyes?”
“Cautious, aren’t you. Even in Sect Leader Yeo’s opinion, isn’t three against one a bit much? It was a fight among the Three Talents. On top of that, they had been coaxing the disciple of the Beggars’ Sect Leader into betraying him from long before. It seems they meant to summon his heart demon (心魔), then have the three Scholars step in and finish him off for certain. Did the Beggars’ Sect Leader die, or did he live? What do you think? Three Scholars joined hands, after all.”
Yeo Unbyeok answered.
“Even if he survived, he must have suffered serious injuries. Now that I’ve answered, I see I’ve fallen for your scheme, Sect Leader, but it doesn’t matter.”
I nodded.
“It doesn’t matter to me either. If my story bores you, we can have a bout anytime.”
Yeo Unbyeok nodded as well.
“Let’s do that.”
“First of all, your guess is wrong. The Beggars’ Sect Leader wasn’t seriously injured, and he is alive and well. And the Blind Scholar died by my hand.”
“Are you certain?”
“Certain.”
The moment I spoke, I did not miss Yeo Unbyeok’s expression.
Yeo Unbyeok tilted his head.
“It doesn’t seem to be a lie, but it’s hard to believe.”
Come to think of it, the White-Robed Scholar had entered the Murim Alliance. In that case, it was not especially surprising for a Scholar to be hiding in a small sect among the forces of the righteous path.
I answered calmly.
“Well, that’s how it turned out. If you were close, I won’t go so far as to apologize… but you have my regrets. That said, I can’t very well die for you.”
Yeo Unbyeok laughed.
“True enough. You’re as impertinent as the rumors say. Will you tell me how he died? With your current skill, I would think you struggled greatly against the Blind Scholar. I don’t say that to belittle you. It’s because he had many subordinates.”
“I can’t tell such an expensive story for free.”
In this way, I banked one story that would make this fellow, neither enemy nor ally, curious. If he did not want to hear it, he would attack me without mercy, and if he was still curious, he would not be able to touch me.
But the power of a story is frightening. Because unless it came from my mouth, there was no one who could properly explain how the Blind Scholar had died.
For a while, Yeo Unbyeok thought deeply about something.
It was as though he had summoned the Blind Scholar and me into his imagination, set us against each other, and was watching the result. Even in the midst of this, he did not seem to show any major openings, so I simply left him be.
When Yeo Unbyeok finished imagining, he looked at me and said,
“I truly cannot figure it out. I know his subordinates served him rather well.”
“Sect Leader Yeo.”
“Speak.”
“No one can know everything that happens in the world. The same goes for you. The same goes for me. It is the same for Mongrang and Master Yuk Hap here as well.”
“That is true.”
After organizing my thoughts, I said,
“Let’s do this. If Sect Leader Yeo is an enemy of the Demonic Cult, then today the four of us should not dig too deeply into one another’s secrets. I think it would be better to simply have a drink and part ways. I have not yet perfectly settled my stance toward the Scholar faction.”
Only then did Yeo Unbyeok laugh for the first time.
“You are exceedingly arrogant.”
The Lust Demon nodded, and the Ghost Demon also agreed with Yeo Unbyeok.
“He is.”
“Agreed.”
Yeo Unbyeok slowly looked at me, the Lust Demon, and the Ghost Demon, his left hand holding an empty wine cup.
“Then are the three of you enemies of the Demonic Cult?”
The Ghost Demon answered.
“How many people of the jianghu are not?”
The Lust Demon let out a sigh.
“I am the second son of the Windcloud Mong Clan.”
Yeo Unbyeok stared at the three of us for a long time, and only then relaxed the hand that had been gripping the wine cup. At the same time, the cup crumbled without a sound like dust.
I looked at the cup that had turned to powder, then glanced at the waiter.
“Bring one more cup.”
“Yes, sir.”
When the waiter brought over an intact wine cup, I pointed at Yeo Unbyeok with my finger.
“This man turned the wine cup into powder.”
The waiter answered with a slightly flustered expression.
“Ah, yes. It’s all right.”
“What’s all right?”
The waiter’s face turned bright red; he bowed his head and hurriedly fled.
Yeo Unbyeok said,
“As you can see, my influence is meager, but I am the sect leader of the Unhyang Sect, which cooperates with the righteous path. If that does not make me an enemy of the Demonic Cult, then what would? In particular, I am a man who has a personal grudge against one of the Demonic Cult’s experts.”
I asked,
“Which bastard? The Cult Leader?”
Yeo Unbyeok answered.
“The Blood-Fragrance Right Historian (血香右史).”
The Blood-Fragrance Right Historian was another title of the Radiant Right Historian. Strangely enough, the character for fragrance was also in the name of Yeo Unbyeok’s sect. I asked Yeo Unbyeok simply.
“Are you weaker than the Right Historian?”
“Have you seen the Right Historian in person as well, Sect Leader?”
“I have never seen him in person.”
Of course, since I had seen him in my past life, that was half a lie. I had not seen him in this life.
Yeo Unbyeok laughed lightly.
“Fortunately, none of you four are followers of the Demonic Cult. Then let us do this. If you tell me how the Blind Scholar died, we will part today like friends. My identity has been exposed, but the Hao Sect Leader, who has gained such renown of late, would not go around spreading it everywhere.”
I asked Yeo Unbyeok,
“That isn’t bad. But what makes you so confident you can let us leave peacefully?”
Yeo Unbyeok suddenly looked around, then flicked his fingers twice.
At that, not only the inn but also the passersby and the countless people selling goods from street stalls all stopped moving at once.
The guests inside the inn also remained motionless, awaiting orders. I was not the sort to be greatly startled, but having so many people suddenly glare at me was bound to be absurd.
And this, in the end, was the true nature of the sense of incongruity. Not just one or two of them, but almost all of them were subordinates of the Unhyang Sect Leader.
We looked around, confirming the gazes and auras of the people nearby.
Rather, it seemed that those without skill trained inside the Unhyang Sect, while those with greater skill than them made their livelihoods around the Unhyang Sect.
At this level, they seemed to belong among the upper ranks of the Hundred Schools as a house.
Yeo Unbyeok said,
“Does this lend a little weight to the words that I might not let you leave peacefully?”
I nodded.
“Impressive. Confirmed.”
When Yeo Unbyeok waved his hand lightly, the people began moving again.
It may sound sudden, but the people of the Hundred Schools originally do not get along with one another.
Wouldn’t that be so?
The Confucians and Daoists are entirely different, and the Mohists and Legalists likewise hold completely different ideals. In a way, it was only natural for the Scholars to be different from one another. The problem was that I could not tell which descendants each of them were.
I asked Yeo Unbyeok,
“You didn’t know the Blind Scholar had died?”
“I knew.”
Yeo Unbyeok continued.
“They said he was killed by the Haomun Master. I didn’t believe it. I suspected it might be a scheme by the White-Clad Scholar to make you and me clash. The White-Clad Scholar always did love schemes. From my perspective, I couldn’t easily believe it. I suspected that the White-Clad Scholar and Cheonak might have joined hands and killed the Blind Scholar.”
The atmosphere turned somehow cold.
Yeo Unbyeok said in an indifferent tone.
“So, to summarize, the Blind Scholar was someone closer to me. Even when you walk here on your own two feet and confess to me that you killed him, I still find it hard to believe. Haomun Master.”
“Wow……”
My mouth fell open on its own.
What the hell was this situation?
Had the White-Clad Scholar told this bastard the truth and succeeded in driving a wedge between us?
Yeo Unbyeok took hold of the wine bottle.
“……I’ll pour you a cup. When someone you’ve known for a long time dies, it’s only natural to want to find out how he died.”
After receiving the wine, I looked at the people in the street. Now I could see ordinary passersby, and I could also distinguish those who had only been pretending to be ordinary. After looking around, I said to Yeo Unbyeok.
“So you were the Juzi of the Mojia.”
Yeo Unbyeok stared at me in silence.
...I know a little about the Mojia and the Juzi. The Juzi refers to the leader of the Mojia, akin to the sect leader of a martial sect. The reason I know of the Mojia is simple. The members of the Mojia were originally artisans of the same sort as Yeon Jaseong.
In other words, they were working people, and at the same time, martial artists.
That was why, when Yeo Unbyeok flicked his finger, everyone nearby had filled with killing intent.
Among the Hundred Schools of Thought, they were at least a force similar to Haomun. In that they had already fallen after Confucianism gained dominance, they were similar to me in my previous life. It was understandable that they were living in hiding under the name Unhyangmun. After all, the Mojia was a Feigong force that opposed wars of conquest.
In other words, as long as I properly explained that I’d killed this bastard’s friend, he was a man who had no reason to become my enemy.
But why did I hate explaining it so much?