Episode 103. This Is My Plan.
I held a fishing rod, but I did not catch any fish.
Now and then, I had wondered why men like Jiang Taigong in the old tales cast their fishing rods and never pulled up any fish.
They probably hated fish dishes, like me.
Maybe the look of the scales ruined their appetite.
Maybe they disliked catfish-like bastards.
In any case, like Jiang Taigong, I cast my fishing rod and endlessly gazed out over Jeongpyeong Lake. The reason I had taken an interest in a man called Jiang Taigong was because of something he had once said.
Fushui bu fanpen.
It means that spilled water cannot be gathered back into the vessel.
And when did he say this?
When the wife who had left him in poverty heard that Jiang Taigong had become a feudal lord and came to find him, that was what Jiang Taigong said.
Look at that temper.
I privately thought Jiang Taigong must have been a man like me.
In truth, not a single book mentions that Jiang Taigong learned martial arts. However, I am certain Jiang Taigong was a man who cultivated martial arts.
He was a descendant of Shennong, who was called the Yan Emperor.
The Yan Emperor, Shennong.
Even if that were not an emperor’s name but the epithet of a martial artist, it would not feel strange. Especially to someone like me, who had cultivated the Flame Realm contained within the Golden Turtle Unfettered Art.
Jiang Taigong often crushed large enemy forces with a small number of troops, especially in battles like the one called the Battle of Muye. My conclusion was that strategy or whatever be damned, Jiang Taigong simply won because he was strong.
If not, then never mind.
While looking out at the calm lake for the first time in a while, I soothed my mind with such idle thoughts, treating my own surging wrath as I waited for news from the rabble.
* * *
The third day of lake fishing.
Water Strider U Cheoljin delivered the news that the troops of the Namcheon Alliance were standing by at a place called Bokyang.
Bokyang was a key transport hub about half an hour from Jeongpyeong Lake, and if I used my lightness skill, I could reach it in no time.
From the report, it seemed they were waiting in Bokyang for other black factions that had received the Namcheon Alliance’s request to join the war, then moving together.
In that case, it would be convenient for me to join the Namcheon Alliance as well.
All I had to do was pretend to be a black faction member belonging to the Unwol Brotherhood.
For three days, I did not particularly torment the Unwol Brotherhood. After looking into them, I found that an unexpected number of them were tied to honest livelihoods, so I left them as they were.
Instead, I deliberately went around the shops near the lake, quietly eavesdropping on talk that Chairman Byeok Saun had died, and hearing from the mouths of the workers themselves the rumor that there would be no more tribute payments.
Of course, it was something I had ordered.
In any case, my three days as a fisherman came to an end like this. I changed into the Brotherhood clothes U Cheoljin had brought me, and also wrapped up my life as an escort guard.
From a man in black to an escort guard.
From an escort guard back into a third-rate black faction thug from the lakeside.
The three messengers of the Namcheon Alliance would know my face, but even if my identity was exposed, it did not matter much.
Because I could always participate in the war as the Haomun Sect Master and strike the Paegeom Society.
Just before leaving Jeongpyeong Lake, I had U Cheoljin sit for a moment in the spot beside where I had been fishing.
“Chairman U Cheoljin.”
The Water Strider’s small eyes widened.
“Yes?”
“Once I leave, you should be the chairman. How long are you going to live as a water strider?”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’ll leave you with a few words of advice before I go.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t keep collecting tribute from now on. Tell the Brotherhood’s men to find ways to earn their keep through proper work. Because you collect tribute, the food at every restaurant tastes bad, and you end up doing things like pickpocketing, getting caught by me, and having your face slapped, don’t you?”
U Cheoljin replied in an uncertain voice.
“Understood.”
“If there are subordinates who truly have nothing to do or are worried about their next meal, send them to a faction called the Heukmyo Gang. I’ll take them in. There, they won’t have to worry about making a living. However, there is a risk they might die fighting martial artists, or die during training because one of my subordinates trains them brutally. Keep that in mind before you send them.”
U Cheoljin stared at me.
“Were you the leader of a black faction? I thought you weren’t.”
“Chairman U, the former leader of the Heukmyo Gang also died by my hand. I spared most of his subordinates. There are many bastards like that under me. If you people had attacked me the other day, all of you would have become fish food.”
“Ah……”
“Do you understand a little now?”
“Yes, I understand clearly.”
U Cheoljin asked as though he was curious.
“Then why are you joining the Namcheon Alliance alone?”
I stated a very simple reason in a serious tone.
“The only thing more entertaining than watching a fire is watching a fight. The Paegeom Society and the Namcheon Alliance are both fairly wicked bastards, so they’ll fight viciously. Which side do you think will win?”
“I don’t know.”
“Even though the leader of the Paegeom Society died by my hand, you still don’t know?”
“Yes.”
“Naturally, the Namcheon Alliance will win, so remember that.”
I stared silently at the man named U Cheoljin for a moment. I wondered if there would ever be a chance to meet him again.
‘Perhaps this will be the last time.’
After thinking for a moment, I said,
“Later, I’ll send someone to see how the people around Jeongpyeong Lake are living.”
“Yes.”
“If, by then, the food and tea here taste a little better, and the owners and people in the shops have more relaxed faces, I’ll take you into Haomun as well. But if nothing has changed, the subordinates belonging to Haomun will start swinging blades here. They’ll probably turn a few of you into fish food. Fish ought to eat human meat now and then too. They’re the ones always getting eaten, so how wronged must they feel? Namu Amitabha, Asura Balbaltada.”
“Yes.”
U Cheoljin, who did not look all that smart, nodded as if slowly chewing over my words, then replied.
“I will remember the name Haomun. So your true identity is the sect master of that place, correct?”
“Yes. I’m also in the middle of fighting Ilwi Dogang. My enemies are scattered all over the martial world. A man who even creates enemies that do not exist and keeps fighting—that is the Haomun Sect Master.”
“I’ll keep looking into it.”
I also bid farewell to Jeongpyeong Lake, which had calmly soothed my heart for three days.
“This Jeongpyeong Lake, you see.”
“Yes.”
“Not a single thing here has been touched by human hands, and yet it’s truly a beautiful lake. It was so pleasant to look at that my madness vanished the whole time I gazed upon it. Thanks to the lake, I was able to rest well for a few days too.”
U Cheoljin nodded as he looked at the lake.
“It is a beautiful lake.”
I grinned at U Cheoljin’s words. I thought that if he was a man capable of seeing the beauty of the lake, then I could entrust him with being chairman.
I pointed at the lake.
“Look over there. Wow, no matter how many times I see it, the scenery changes each time to a mysterious degree. During the day, it scatters sunlight; at night, moonlight falls upon it. It’s a magnificent place.”
I muttered like some prematurely old man, then said to U Cheoljin.
“The people living near this lake must be the same. They’ll eat well and live fine even without black path bastards like you. Leave working people alone. They’re busy trying to make a living.”
For the first time, U Cheoljin spoke his mind.
“Since you spared my life, I’ll do my utmost to make sure both I and the Brotherhood disappear from this place.”
Only then did I look at U Cheoljin as a person, not a water strider.
“Looks like I picked a good chairman. If you’re still alive, let’s meet again. I’m off.”
“Take care on your way.”
What happens in the gangho is, for the most part, a repetition of killing and fighting. Or else, like today, a repetition of meeting and parting…….
I left Jeongpyeong Lake.
* * *
After parting with U Cheoljin, I went to Bokyang and stood in line like some village youth volunteering for the army.
It seemed we had to write down some basic personal details.
The ones who arrived before me went into the tent, filled in their particulars, then came out after collecting their allowance. Listening to them chatter as they passed, it wasn’t much of an allowance. Still, a rumor was spreading by word of mouth that if the Namcheon Alliance Leader absorbed the Paegeom Society, a great reward would be given.
Why did the whole thing feel somewhat laughable?
There were also men from black path groups in other regions, and quite a few wandering warriors who never missed this sort of fight.
Since I too was dressed in the Unwol Brotherhood’s clothes, I was in no way inferior to the riffraff when it came to looking rustic.
When my turn came and I entered the tent, the examiner writing in a ledger at a small table asked.
“Little brother, who are you and where are you from? For now, I’ll put you down as a saber wielder.”
I answered while imitating the water strider’s way of speaking.
“I am U Cheoljin, from the Unwol Brotherhood of Jeongpyeong Lake.”
“Unwol Brotherhood… I think I’ve heard of it a few times. Did you come alone?”
“That I did.”
“Here to make money?”
“I have a personal grudge against the Paegeom Society.”
“As expected, the Paegeom Society has plenty of enemies. Your skill?”
“By the lakeside, I have never once been defeated. Jeongpyeong’s number one saber, Unwol’s number one saber, the lake’s number one saber, the undefeated saber wielder of my hometown—that is me.”
The examiner let out a sigh.
“The people of Jeongpyeong Lake must be a talkative bunch. I’ll look forward to it. Give this little brother three standard silver pieces.”
The man paying out the allowance replied with startled eyes.
“Three?”
The examiner clicked his tongue and said.
“Didn’t he say he’s undefeated? Pay him three.”
“Yes, sir.”
As I received the silver from a fellow younger than me, I asked.
“How many do people usually get?”
The young fellow said in a sour tone.
“Even one is a lot.”
I nodded.
“As expected, the examiner has quite an eye.”
“We’re busy, so please leave. Next.”
“…….”
If I beat up the young bastard after coming this far, it wouldn’t be strange if I ended up waging war against the Namcheon Alliance all by myself, so I let it slide.
“This impudent little shit.”
Letting something slide and having words reflexively pop out of my mouth were two different matters.
“Pardon? What did you just say?”
The examiner cut in.
“You shut your mouth. What kind of way is that to speak to someone who came to support us?”
After doing face-the-water cultivation at Jeongpyeong Lake, I had become this patient.
After being chased out of the tent, I looked at the riffraff standing in line.
Perhaps they had overheard that I’d received three silver pieces inside, because they abruptly began sizing me up here and there.
While I was having a staring contest with a few idiots, a martial artist of the Namcheon Alliance approached and said.
“I will relay the Alliance Leader’s words. We depart in half a gak. Those who have not received their allowance by then will be settled up with later. The target is the Paegeom Society’s main base. The Alliance Leader will be fighting personally, so do not behave strangely. Desertion, betrayal, fighting among allies. We are grateful that all of you are helping the Namcheon Alliance, but if the Alliance Leader becomes angry, there is nothing we can do either. I hope none of you lose your heads to the Alliance Leader after acting needlessly conspicuous.”
I let it go in one ear and out the other, then wandered around with my hands clasped behind my back, looking over the Namcheon Alliance’s forces.
‘Where might Sadohaeng be?’
Sadohaeng, called the number one man of Namcheon.
Even so, Namcheon was no more than a slightly large county. Of course, it was far bigger than a backwater like Ilyang County.
As I wandered here and there, I stopped when I heard a voice coming from the largest tent.
“Let’s get moving.”
“Yes, sir.”
A burly man walked out of the tent.
His hair looked extremely stiff, and his strangely large mouth curved upward on both sides, giving him the impression of a man who was always smiling. But rather than smiling because he was happy, he was the type whose body had been steeped in a kind of confidence.
I looked from this angle and that, and no matter how I looked at him, that bastard was Sadohaeng.
Was it because he was an awl in a pouch?
I had my arms crossed among the crowd, when Sadohaeng, who had been walking, stopped and stared at me.
I was hiding my presence, so why was he glaring?
Sadohaeng showed his unusually large teeth and said to me.
“Little brother, you’ve got a fine face.”
I nodded.
“Yours is fine too.”
Sadohaeng himself remained still, but the eyes of all the subordinates beside him widened.
“……!”
Sadohaeng suddenly burst into laughter, then moved on with his subordinates.
“Enough, enough. He’s an ally. How would he know who I am?”
“Alliance Leader, even so…….”
“Let’s go.”
At the rear of the group following Sadohaeng, the fellow who had come as a messenger last time stared at me with his eyes wide as could be.
I pointed at him with my finger, then brought it to my mouth.
‘Shh.’
Sadohaeng walked to the central area where the people had gathered, looked over the gangho men who had assembled at the Namcheon Alliance, then raised a longsword.
“Brothers, this is the sword of the Paegeom Society Leader. At present, we cannot know whether this is a trick or not. But if he is a man who would resort to deception even while handing over his own weapon, I simply cannot tolerate it. It makes me regret the time I spent fighting such a half-witted fool. Trick or not, within tonight, the Paegeom Society will be dismantled. Did you come here hoping for money? Good. If you came because you bear a grudge against the Paegeom Society, all the better. When the fight ends and the Namcheon Alliance subjugates the Paegeom Society, those who joined us from outside will also become my brothers. Let’s go.”
I listened to Sadohaeng’s words and grinned.
‘Brothers, my ass.’
He was a bastard who clearly showed that he had lived his whole life staking everything on manliness.
More or less as I had expected.
My plan, inspired by Jiang Taigong while I was fishing at the lake, was this.
First, together with Sadohaeng, I beat the crap out of the Tyrant Sword Society.
After beating the crap out of the Tyrant Sword Society, I beat the crap out of Sadohaeng.
‘Perfect. Absolutely perfect…….’
If Sadohaeng manfully accepted defeat, I’d fold the Southern Heaven Alliance into Haomun. If Sadohaeng threw a goddamn fit, I planned to disband the Southern Heaven Alliance too.
Sadohaeng was also a man with a handsome face, so even I had no idea how things would turn out.