Chapter 6. Please Send Me to Yeongneung County
I was summoned to the Law Enforcement Hall. Martial artists with stern faces hurried back and forth, while I sat in silent, upright meditation, waiting.
"They will call for you soon, so wait here."
"Understood."
Insubordination and assault. If it were the old me, these charges would have made my flesh tremble, for the punishments of the Law Enforcement Hall are severe and absolute.
-I truly cannot fathom this. Neither your intention to go to Yeongneung, nor your intent to come to the Law Enforcement Hall after causing such an obvious scene.
'The core of the matter lies in the succession struggle of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance.'
Currently, the First Young Master, the Second Young Master, the Third Elder, and the First Hall Master were all competing to become the next leader of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance.
'It goes without saying that the side that attracts the most talent holds the advantage.'
Even now, Instructor Seok’s gaze upon me was far from ordinary.
'And providing an opening for one's opponent to attack is a dangerous game.'
-Are you saying that even the First Young Master’s faction cannot easily deal with you as they please?
'Precisely.'
Once I had beaten Dam Yun-sang to a pulp, joining the First Young Master’s faction became impossible.
'However, there are still factions that would covet a recruit who has displayed such exceptional skill.'
Therefore, what I must do is walk the tightrope between them properly.
'And it is also to convey a certain message to the higher-ups.'
-So, you think those men will send you to Yeongneung?
'If my intentions succeed, yes.'
-And if they don't?
'Then I shall have to find another way.'
-You really are a man with no backup plan.
.
.
.
They say not everything in this world goes according to plan, but it was a bit troublesome for things to start this way.
"Mok Ju-gyeol, explain yourself."
A man with a cold expression, as if not even a needle could pierce his skin, was glaring at me.
'This is unexpected.'
The man’s name was Sim Dang-gyeong.
The reason I remember his name is simple.
'To think I would meet the future Head of the Law Enforcement Hall like this.'
He is quite the heavyweight. It was, in every sense, the worst possible encounter. Who is Sim Dang-gyeong?
He is a man who values principles and laws so highly that it is said if he had been born the son of a scholar, he would have become a judge. It was obvious how I, who had dared to commit insubordination, would appear in the eyes of such a man.
-His gaze is as if he wants to tear you to shreds this very instant.
"First, I would like to ask if you are in your right mind. To strike down a senior in front of everyone—are you unaware that violence between members of the Alliance is forbidden?"
He tapped the table like a head constable interrogating a criminal.
"Furthermore, insubordination is an even greater crime. This will not end with a simple period of reflection."
His words were sound. I listened to him without a word.
"Do you have anything to say?"
A brief moment of hesitation. But I could not back down here.
"If you permit me, I would like to say one thing."
"Go ahead."
If it were the old me, I would have started with an apology. I had taken it for granted that one should conform to the organization and follow its laws.
'However, a dog that has been through the cauldron cannot look at its master with the same eyes as before.'
To me, the Alliance was no longer an object of blind loyalty.
"Since when has violence without justification been permitted? You must already be aware that Senior Dam swung his fist first."
"Is that all you have to say?"
Sim Dang-gyeong asked back with coldly frozen eyes.
"Dam Yun-sang will naturally pay the price for his crimes. Are you saying that because he is also at fault, you are in the clear?"
"I merely wished to ensure the rights and wrongs of the matter were made clear."
"You don't intend to escape punishment with that silver tongue of yours, do you?"
"How could that be? On the contrary, I wish to plead for my own punishment."
"Plead for your own punishment?"
Sim Dang-gyeong’s eyes grew even colder.
"It gets more ridiculous by the moment. A man receiving punishment wants to make a choice?"
"It would be far more 'helpful to the Alliance' than simple reflection, a pay cut, or a flogging."
"……!"
Sim Dang-gyeong’s gaze shifted.
"Mok Ju-gyeol, now I understand."
"What is it that you speak of?"
"Was the reason you intentionally caused a scene to convey that very message?"
"……!"
At this point, even I could not help but be surprised.
'How did he know?'
The air turned frigid.
I had not expected to meet an opponent who could see through my intentions so easily, and so quickly.
'It seems I underestimated him without realizing it.'
I decided to treat Sim Dang-gyeong as the heavyweight he was.
"Before we speak of that."
Sim Dang-gyeong’s tone changed.
"Let me ask you one more thing. Do you understand whose anger your actions might provoke?"
I had to be surprised once more. However, I kept my expression calm.
"I have my suspicions."
"And yet you carried out such an act? Even knowing who might feel insulted by your behavior?"
"Regrettably, yes."
-What is this? I thought you said he was a stickler for principles? He seems well-versed in internal politics, too.
'If he were merely rigid without any countermeasures, he would have broken long ago.'
But Sim Dang-gyeong is a man who will one day become the Head of the Law Enforcement Hall. Reaching that position means he is capable of political thinking as well.
'In truth, one must consider the Hall Masters and Elders of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance to be half-monster and half-demon. In the normal course of things, that is.'
In a way, I was even pleased. The Ten Thousand Evil Alliance still had many such raw gems of talent.
"The reason I am interrogating you myself is because determining the punishment for this matter is a highly complex affair."
"I suspected as much."
Sim Dang-gyeong asked with eyes that remained cold, yet seemed slightly curious.
"You must have a purpose for doing something like this. How do you intend to plead for your punishment?"
"I wish to be assigned the task that everyone else avoids."
"And what is that? Are you going to clean the latrines?"
"No, I will go to Yeongneung County."
"……!"
Even the unflappable Sim Dang-gyeong looked greatly startled by these words.
"You are insane. Do you truly wish to die?"
"How could that be?"
"Do you even know what kind of place Yeongneung County is?"
"Of course."
"What do you intend to do by going into that dragon’s pool and tiger’s den?"
"It may be presumptuous of me to say, but Yeongneung County is but a stone's throw from here in Cheongju County. Yet, I say this with great audacity, the martial artists of Yeongneung do not recognize the hegemony of our Alliance."
"……So?"
"I believe that the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance needs a branch in Yeongneung County as well."
"Presumptuous words."
Sim Dang-gyeong cut me off coldly.
"Mok Ju-gyeol, who do you think you are? You speak with such ease of things that even Hall Masters or Pavilion Masters would find difficult to suggest."
To Sim Dang-gyeong, my presumptuous behavior must be particularly grating. But one cannot carry out their will if they fear the anger of their opponent.
"If you do not wish to hear it, I shall hold my tongue."
Sim Dang-gyeong watched me for a moment before nodding.
"I will continue to listen."
"Yes. I shall begin by explaining why the Alliance has not expanded there."
"Speak."
"The Sungwol Sect, the greatest in Yeongneung, is a secular branch of the Mount Heng Sect, and the Black Wind Gang, which rules the Evil Path of Yeongneung, happens to be under the protection of the Peerless Fortress."
The Mount Heng Sect is a major sect that occupies one corner of the Nine Great Sects and One Union, and is a prestigious school belonging to the Five Great Sword Sects. In name and reality, they are the rulers who share Hunan Province with the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance.
They are also a prestigious righteous sect that proudly maintains its lineage even in the Southern Murim, a world of the Evil Path.
Furthermore, the Peerless Fortress is the leader of the Nine Nether Heavens and a major sect that shares the same roots as the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance.
"With each of them backed by a major sect, it is not a position that even our Alliance can easily fear."
In fact, a few years later, the First Young Master, Jong Wi-cheon, would attempt to establish a branch in Yeongneung to gain merit, only to suffer a great failure.
Given that situation, how absurd must I appear, discussing the construction of a branch whose failure is already foretold?
"Do you even know the martial strength of the Sungwol Sect and the Black Wind Gang? They are not opponents to be taken lightly."
"I do not intend to confront them immediately. If I sow the seeds and cultivate them steadily, the day will come when I can stand shoulder to shoulder with them."
Sim Dang-gyeong, having caught the subtle subtext of my words, asked.
"Mok Ju-gyeol, you speak as if you were the Branch Master yourself."
"Yes. That is the price I wish to pay for my crimes."
"Hahahaha!"
Even the unflappable Sim Dang-gyeong could not suppress a mocking laugh at these words.
"It defies both reason and law. Unless you have lost your mind, I cannot fathom what intention you have in saying such things."
Sim Dang-gyeong slammed the table.
"Without any foundation, you intend to go alone to Yeongneung County, where the leader of the Nine Nether Heavens and a corner of the Nine Great Sects exert their influence?"
"That is correct."
"Let me change the question slightly. If you do so, what does the Alliance gain?"
I replied.
"It is a crude analogy, but even a stray dog will bare its teeth to protect its own territory."
"Hmph."
"The influence of other sects taking root in the front yard of our Ten Thousand Evil Alliance is as irritating as a thorn in one's lip."
"And?"
"It also means that Yeongneung County is a fertile land, enough for them to risk danger to stake their claim."
Sim Dang-gyeong pierced the weakness in my argument.
"You want me to send a first-year recruit to such a place? It would only serve to smear the name of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance."
"You are right. It is far more likely that a nobody like me will be stabbed and killed without a soul knowing."
"And then?"
"If I die in such a way, does that not in itself become a powerful justification for punishing them?"
"Mok Ju-gyeol. Enough of this sophistry."
"It may sound like sophistry, but I do not speak in jest."
I adjusted my posture and looked Sim Dang-gyeong straight in the eye.
"If I die, use that as a pretext to strike them. Demand justice, exact revenge, and re-establish the branch."
"What?"
"Even the Peerless Fortress and the Mount Heng Sect will find it difficult to intervene actively if there is such a justification."
"……!"
Sim Dang-gyeong seemed to grasp the logic behind those words.
"Are you saying you will become a sacrificial offering?"
"That is correct."
"Insane. You would sacrifice your life for the Alliance? Your flattery is so excessive that it is hard to believe."
"I am telling you that even if I fail, you can still reap such benefits."
At this, Sim Dang-gyeong’s eyes deepened.
"Mok Ju-gyeol."
"Speak."
"It turns out you are no ordinary man. I thought you were just a fledgling who knew nothing."
Sim Dang-gyeong’s tone changed.
"Do you wish to be the head of a snake rather than the tail of a dragon?"
"A dragon that walks the heavens is but a carp before it climbs the rough waterfall."
"Are you saying you harbor grand ambitions?"
At this moment, our conversation began to shift into an entirely different dimension.
"Mok Ju-gyeol."
Sim Dang-gyeong rose from his chair and paced the room slowly. Then, he spoke.
"Let us speak plainly. From this point on, I will not report this to our superiors."
"……!"
"Can you tell me your true intentions? Tell me what it is you are looking at."
I realized that a change had occurred in Sim Dang-gyeong’s heart.
"I, too, shall speak plainly. Why are you curious about this?"
"Because I wish to know what it is you hope to achieve by going to such lengths."
He offered his own conjecture.
"Do you believe that establishing merit as a branch leader is the fastest way to rise in rank?"
"How could that be? If my ability and martial prowess are certain, establishing merit at the main headquarters is a far faster path."
"If that were your intention, you should have saved face for Dam Yun-sang and taken his hand."
"That is correct. If I could enter the Young Master’s faction, my advancement would be guaranteed."
"Then why did you not?"
It was difficult to discern exactly what Sim Dang-gyeong’s intentions were. What did this man expect from me? Yet, my intuition whispered that I must speak the truth now.
"It is because I believe that in Yeongneung, I can realize the version of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance that I desire."
"Are you saying there is a problem with the current Ten Thousand Evil Alliance?"
"You know it as well as I do. The Ten Thousand Evil Alliance of today has been great, but the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance of tomorrow may no longer be great, depending on who takes the helm."
Sim Dang-gyeong pointed at me. A gust of internal energy flew from his fingertips, as if it would pierce right through me at any moment. This man was a formidable expert—to a degree that the current me could not hope to contend with.
"That is an insolent remark, Mok Ju-gyeol."
However, I was a man who had not yielded even before the killing intent of Jong Wi-cheon.
"I will speak directly. I used Senior Dam as a foil precisely because he is a man of the Young Master. To save his face would have been out of the question."
"……."
Sim Dang-gyeong’s expression shifted moment by moment. I carefully gauged what those changes meant and opened my mouth.
"Senior. Perhaps what I truly admire is not the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance itself."
"Then what is it?"
"Our Alliance Leader is a man who has upheld the law and benevolence despite being of the Evil Path."
"……Are you saying the Young Master is not?"
"I am concerned about the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance that the Young Master will lead."
Especially because I had already seen that conclusion.
"My grand cause lies in ensuring that someone more suitable than the Young Master carries on the banner of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance. That is why I am heading to Yeongneung."
"You think someone like you can change the landscape?"
"Miracles do not happen for those who do not believe."
"Absurd."
The corners of Sim Dang-gyeong’s mouth lifted slightly. Yet, the temperature of that smile was by no means cold.
"Do you truly intend to conquer Yeongneung?"
"The title of the ruler of Yeongneung is never light. If such a person joins the fray, it could become a significant variable in the succession struggle."
"That is only if it is possible."
Before I knew it, he was treating me as one martial artist to another.
"It is truly a curious thing. How could you, a mere recruit of twenty years, come to such thoughts? And with such a sense of belonging, no less."
"From the moment I joined the alliance, I was already a sword of the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance."
Sim Dang-gyeong nodded.
"A foolish question, then. I will ask you one last thing."
"Please, ask."
"Suppose you manage to successfully build up a single branch on your own. Would that not be a feat equivalent to that of a sect founder?"
It was a cunning question. He was testing whether my true intent was loyalty to the Ten Thousand Evil Alliance or if I was merely trying to use its banner.
"That will not happen."
"Why?"
"As I said, I merely wish to follow the Alliance Leader’s ideals."
"What do you think the Alliance Leader’s ideals are?"
It was a question that required no deliberation.
"It would be to show that even the Evil Path possesses a fragrance of its own."
"……!"
Sim Dang-gyeong’s eyebrows twitched violently.
"Mok Ju-gyeol."
"Yes."
"This has been a very absurd and preposterous exchange. It is certainly not the kind of conversation a member who has committed a crime should be having with the Law Enforcement Hall member who came to interrogate him."
"That is true."
"However, I shall set aside the trivial laws of the world and consider it meaningful that I could have this conversation with you as one martial artist to another."
*The feeling is mutual, Martial Artist Sim.*
I replied to him in my heart.
"I am curious. Whether your nonsensical bluster can truly be realized."
As if by prior agreement, we both performed a formal salute to one another.
"You may leave. You are confined to quarters until further orders are issued."
"Understood."
……The die is cast.
Now, I must wait and see how the repercussions unfold.
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