Chapter 154
Chapter 154. The Black Flame Dragon amid Chaos (4)
“Older Brother, will the day come when our Yujang Sect also stands tall in the Jianghu?”
At the question from his younger sister, who was marrying into an influential family, Jang Woo-jae could not say anything.
Because he alone knew that she, more than anyone else, had dreams of being active in the Jianghu as well.
Even so, his younger sister had said things she did not mean, saying that since she was marrying into a rich family, her life would be smooth from now on.
In that way, Jang Woo-jae had been able to become an Academy Student of the Murim Academy through his younger sister’s sacrifice.
Because he knew his younger sister would be happier than anyone about his acceptance, Jang Woo-jae tried to meet her as soon as he arrived at the Yujang Sect.
However, he could not meet her at all, and he could not even hear news of how she was doing.
The grand banquet opened by his family.
Even the visit from the friends he had met at the Academy.
Jang Woo-jae had truly spent each day in a daze.
“Huh?”
Then he met the man who had married his younger sister.
At the sight of the man sitting with a courtesan on one side of the banquet and singing a tune, his expression naturally twisted.
The way he drunkenly threw his weight around in every direction, and even the way he came over to the Academy Students and made a fool of himself…….
Despite that arrogant behavior, Jang Woo-jae endured it and treated his brother-in-law well.
However.
“Ha, if only my wife were even half as fine as this young lady, how wonderful that would have been.”
A question began with that one sentence the man spat out as if flattering someone among the Academy Students.
“My wife has no ability, but her pride alone is high. I have been having quite a hard time educating her. Hahaha.”
Jang Woo-jae was the central figure of the banquet, and there were countless people he had to meet, but he ran straight to the family his younger sister had married into.
He ignored the words of the servants and maids trying to stop him, barged blindly into her quarters, and forced the door open.
“Huh…….”
His younger sister greeted Jang Woo-jae with a sorrowful smile.
“Have you been well, Older Brother?”
She had tried to cover the bruises on her face with makeup, but the wounds were so severe that they immediately caught his eye.
“I heard you came this time with your friends from the Academy? Then our Yujang Sect is practically a proper sect now too, right?”
That day, too, just like in the past, Jang Woo-jae could not answer.
Because he had realized whose sacrifice had created the place where he stood.
Because he felt it too keenly, down to the bone.
He could not say anything at all.
“…….”
His eyes, as he headed toward Dongting Lake, were filled with desperation.
He could not fall here.
He could not collapse here.
He had already sacrificed things far too great.
If the Yujang Sect collapsed here, not only he, but his younger sister as well, would be unable to live a proper life.
“I will never fall. No matter what happens, I will survive.”
Jang Woo-jae looked at the ships floating far away over the black waters of Dongting Lake, and vowed it again and again.
‘I am tired.’
Il-gak thought so.
Compared to the time he had spent at the Academy, where he had undergone harsh training every day, his schedule in Yueyang had been nothing but indolent, yet he felt far more mentally exhausted.
What he wanted now was to return to the Academy even one day sooner and prepare for his next martial duel with Jin So-un.
‘That will no longer be easy either.’
If he went to Sichuan, he would use up at least several weeks.
Because they would perform all sorts of absurd formalities in order to create achievements that did not exist.
They would visit allied sects, strengthen relations, hold banquets, and repeat that process again and again.
At one time, he had thought this, too, was mental cultivation, but too many worldly thoughts had piled up for him to call it that.
‘My training is lacking.’
It was a path that countless seniors and masters of his sect had all walked.
Was it not only natural that he should walk it as well?
Il-gak silently recited “Amitabha” thousands, tens of thousands of times, swallowing his endurance again and again.
“Monk, it is time to disembark.”
At the boatman’s words, he quickly came to his senses and saw that the boat had already returned to the dock.
Il-gak got off the boat with a willing heart.
There would be more things he had to be told once he returned to the lodging, but once that was over, he should be able to make time to train.
Just as he was thinking that.
“Great Master! My name is Jang Woo-jae! I am an Academy Student of the Murim Academy and also a disciple of the Yujang Sect. Please help us just once!”
At the familiar name, he turned his head.
People he recognized were shouting until their throats seemed ready to burst while being restrained by others.
“Right now, my sect is in danger of collapsing at the hands of the Black Path. We desperately need help.”
“…….”
When the people’s gazes gathered there at Jang Woo-jae’s words, Hye-seong ultimately gestured for them to approach.
“Ahem.”
Great Master Hye-seong covered his nose and frowned.
The heavy smell of sweat was wafting from them as they pushed through the crowd.
“Great Master! We desperately need the help of the Orthodox Path sects, including the Righteous Path Association. Please help us just once!”
Il-gak had only heard fragments, but he could roughly guess what situation they were in.
It meant that as the Diancang Sect stepped back, the Orthodox Path murim and the Black Path murim had begun clashing over Yueyang’s control.
Due to the storm blowing from the Black Path, the Orthodox Path murim would suffer quite a significant blow.
And naturally, that blow would spread to smaller sects rather than larger ones.
Il-gak recalled that Jang Woo-jae’s sect was not such a remarkable one and made a regretful expression.
“Il-gak.”
At Great Master Hye-seong’s call, which seemed to ask for an explanation, Il-gak quietly approached and said,
“They are indeed Academy Students.”
“Whose sect’s children are they?”
“They are from a sect called the Yujang Sect.”
“The Yujang Sect?”
At Hye-seong’s reaction as he tilted his head, Il-gak quickly added his words.
“It is a sect rooted in Yueyang with solid internal substance.”
“I do not think I have seen them in the Murim Alliance?”
“Their activities in the Alliance are still lacking, but I know there is much talk among people that they possess chivalrous righteousness.”
Hye-seong’s gaze turned toward Jang Woo-jae and the Academy Students who seemed to be his friends.
He closely observed the clothes they wore, the weapons they carried, their appearances, and the measure of their martial arts.
“Hmm…….”
At Hye-seong’s quiet nasal sound, Il-gak quickly continued.
“In particular, that friend Jang Woo-jae is evaluated within the Academy as a representative of those without an affiliation. His reputation is so thick that not only our Righteous Path Association, but even the Orthodox Path Association and the Twelve Peak Citadels are aiming for him.”
Because of this matter in Yueyang, his sect might perhaps disappear.
It was something that had nothing to do with him, but Il-gak began to feel impatient.
“If we help him this time, it will likely be of great aid in reclaiming the position of Academy Representative later.”
“Is that so?”
“Y-yes.”
Hye-seong stared fixedly at Il-gak.
“You, who are normally ignorant of politics and human relations, have become quite eloquent today. What has happened?”
“…….”
Great Master Hye-seong shook his head slowly.
“That, too, is worldly thought.”
“…….”
Great Master Hye-seong stepped forward.
Then he spoke in a deep, majestic voice.
“Young benefactor, please rise now.”
“Great Master! I will pay any price later. Please help us just once.”
A desperate hope of grasping even the thinnest thread settled over Jang Woo-jae’s face.
“The Buddha does not desire any price from you. Have you perhaps asked the Alliance’s Yueyang Branch for help?”
“Yes. I ran there first and requested help. But with the branch’s personnel, they cannot deal with all of Yueyang’s Black Path.”
No matter how much the branch’s limited resident personnel stepped forward, there was no way the Black Path murim would shrink back.
In the first place, the Black Path murim was not prudent enough to hesitate before an environment like this, where they could run wild to their heart’s content.
Jang Woo-jae pleaded desperately once more.
“Once war with the Black Path begins, it will be too late. We need immediate help, Great Master.”
Without realizing it, Il-gak added his own words.
“That is right, Monk. If the Murim Alliance steps forward only after the Black Path murim seizes Yueyang, the smaller sects will…….”
Great Master Hye-seong slowly turned his head and looked at Il-gak.
“…….”
That expressionless face felt like the face of the Four Heavenly Kings, and Il-gak unconsciously swallowed hard.
“……I-I apologize.”
Great Master Hye-seong began speaking again in a solemn voice.
“It is no matter of a day or two that the Black Path’s tyranny has thrown the world into confusion. It is this humble monk’s sorrow that the Buddha’s grace cannot yet reach all under heaven.”
Not only the Academy Students, but everyone from the people who had come to see those of the Nine Sects and One Gang to those who had come to ride boats all looked at Hye-seong.
“Moreover, the Buddha never turns away from sentient beings who seek salvation.”
At some point, Hye-seong’s gaze had left the Academy Students and turned toward the people.
“Whenever and wherever there is one who seeks the Buddha’s aid, even if it is the Ninefold Hells, the Buddha’s hand will reach them.”
The people listening to Hye-seong’s words let out cheers all at once.
“““Waaaah!”””
After the brief excitement subsided, Hye-seong looked at Jang Woo-jae with a benevolent smile.
“So, benefactor, please return and be at ease.”
“A-are you helping us?”
“Did I not just say it? Wherever you are, the Buddha’s grace will reach you.”
At Hye-seong’s vague words, Jang Woo-jae lowered his head deeply once more and said,
“There is word that the Mukhyul Gang is planning to attack our sect in the near future.”
Hye-seong nodded.
“As soon as I return to the Murim Alliance, I will convene an Alliance meeting and handle this matter as the foremost priority.”
“Pardon?”
Jang Woo-jae’s face twisted.
If it were handled that way, how would it be any different from the Murim Alliance’s Yueyang Branch handling it?
“G-Great Master! The crisis of our Yujang Sect is standing at the edge of a hundred-foot pole. If you do that…….”
“Benefactor.”
Dense internal qi filled Great Master Hye-seong’s voice.
It was the Golden Word Command, which gripped the heart as if a tremendous weight had been placed upon it just by hearing it.
The onlookers also felt an enormous presence in Great Master Hye-seong’s voice and maintained a deep silence.
“Did this humble monk not say it? There is no place the Buddha’s hand cannot reach.”
“…….”
“But all things in the world have an order.”
Jang Woo-jae, whose body was trembling, desperately opened his mouth.
“T-then…… could you not visit our sect? Even your visit alone, Great Master, would make the Black Path murim tense greatly.”
Il-gak, watching Jang Woo-jae, could not help being inwardly surprised.
Hye-seong’s Golden Word Command was counted as one of the Ultimate Arts even within Shaolin Temple, yet he had overcome it.
Conversely, that also meant Jang Woo-jae’s current situation was that desperate.
“…….”
Knowing all this, yet unable to do anything, Il-gak felt deep self-loathing toward himself.
“……I would like to do so, but please understand that I cannot visit because a very urgent matter, one where every moment counts, currently lies before me.”
“G-Great Master!”
“Do not worry. You and your sect will surely be protected within the Buddha’s grace.”
The moment Hye-seong ended his words like that and tried to turn away.
“What kind of cheap trick is this?”
A voice that broke the silence rang across the dock.
“People still use things like this these days?”
A group of young men and women who looked around twenty years old walked out from the dock.
When the man at the very front waved his hand through the air, the people felt the pressure that had unknowingly been constricting them lift away, and they exhaled long breaths.
“…….”
Hye-seong’s gaze turned toward the man who had dispelled the Golden Word Command.
A face that somehow looked wicked, and a sneering expression.
On top of that, a relaxed attitude unsuited to his age.
He was a man Hye-seong knew as well.
The man looked at Hye-seong and asked,
“When you say they’ll be protected within that Buddha’s grace or whatever, does that mean if they pray hard enough, the Mukhyul Gang will turn back on their own?”
“…….”
The man naturally stood between Hye-seong’s group and Jang Woo-jae’s group as he continued speaking.
“No, isn't that right? If shouting Amitabha solved everything in the first place, why does the Murim Alliance exist, and why do Black Path forces still remain in the Jianghu?”
The man’s gaze turned toward everyone present.
“Did Shaolin Temple not pray enough?”
Not only Hye-seong’s group, but even the onlookers went pale as they stared at the man.
“Who in the world is he?”
“Has he lost his mind?”
“How dare he speak so irreverently to Great Master Hye-seong, an eminent monk of Shaolin Temple…….”
People whispered as they looked at the man.
Who exactly was this person, who made remarks so audacious that it seemed not only had his liver swollen, but he had left the whole thing at home?
And unexpectedly, the answer burst from Great Master Hye-seong’s mouth.
“Benefactor Jin So-un…….”
The man called Jin So-un deeply furrowed his brow.
“I told you before. Please stop calling a disciple of a Daoist martial sect ‘benefactor, benefactor.’ Seriously.”