So He’s Coming, I See. (5)

“East?”

“Yes.”

Baek Cheon glanced briefly at Chung Myung.

“So there’s really no other way?”

“Charging into Gu-gang would be suicide. We wouldn’t even reach the Yangtze river before dying.”

“Hmm…”

Baek Cheon nodded quietly in agreement.

It was certainly true. The mouth of the river was literally a tiger’s lair now, one of the most lethal spots where the Four Sects Alliance had concentrated its full force against the Heavenly Friends Alliance and the Nine Great Sects.

Charge and break through a place like that with only this number of people?

‘You’d be better off biting the blade and falling; at least that’s a cleaner death.’

Courage and recklessness are different. This was beyond recklessness, mere bravado. You couldn’t risk so many lives on a stunt like that.

“But there’s the left flank too. If we turn the direction at the right moment and aim for Yueyang, wouldn’t that be not bad? The left side has a narrower Yangtze width, so it’s better for attempting a river crossing.”

“Oh?”

Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon with a new surprise. The look seemed to say, ‘For Dong-Ryong, that’s a rather good idea,’ and Baek Cheon’s face twisted at it.

“I’m your sasuk, you bastard!”

“Alright, alright. Amazing, sasuk.”

Chung Myung snorted and shook his head.

“The thought isn’t wrong, but you have to consider one more thing.”

“What?”

“If we head that way, the Four Sects Alliance will more easily notice our movements.”

“So the east is different?”

“Yes. With Black Ghost Fort annihilated, the eastern intelligence network has been completely smashed.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Baek Cheon seem to understand Chung Myung’s words.

Before the Evil Sect unified under the Four Sects Alliance, Southern land was divided into four powers.

The Ten Thousand People Clan ruled the southern part of Southern Lands, Black Ghost Fort the east, Lower District Sect the west, and the Pirates held the Yangtze river basin.

So the western Gu-gang Baek Cheon mentioned earlier was an area firmly controlled by the Lower District Sect. For those needing to conceal movement, there was no more burdensome place.

“Of course Black Ghost Fort isn’t exactly weak compared to the Lower District Sect, but their head has been cut off and their limbs broken. It’s hard for them to show the same grip as before.”

“Indeed…”

“And that damned Jang Ilso chose to gather everyone’s forces and leave the east unattended rather than stabilize the eastern situation. So the east of the Southern lands is a vacuum now.”

Yoon Jong, who had been listening in silence, quietly spoke up.

“If we could move only through the mountains it might be different, but if we eventually have to descend, setting our course east increases our chances of survival.”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung nodded.

“There is no other way. East is the only choice. We head to Nanjing without being detected as much as possible.”

“Nanjing…”

Baek Cheon hesitated, then asked.

“The sect leader… no, have you told the Great Elder Sect Leader about this?”

“I wrote it in a letter.”

“Hmm…”

Baek Cheon’s eyes sank into a grave expression.

Then there really was no alternative. They might somehow reach the Yangtze river, but to lead the Southern Island and cross the river they absolutely needed the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s help.

Since there was no way to inform them of an unarranged rendezvous, they had to head to Nanjing even if it cost sacrifices.

“Then it’s decided. Finish supplies and then head straight to Nanjing.”

“Yes, sasuk!”

“Understood!”

With a clear objective set, the Mount Hua disciples’ gazes hardened.

It was still bleak, but far easier than punching straight through the mouth of the river. With luck, they might reach Nanjing without revealing their trail.

“I’ll go ahead then!”

“Hey, you’re not fully healed yet!”

“You have to run to get better faster! Haap!”

When Jo Gul charged forward, Yoon Jong shook his head as if he couldn’t stop him and followed.

Watching them, Baek Cheon asked Yu Yiseol quietly.

“Samae, are you feeling okay?”

“Running is no problem.”

“Still, be careful just in case.”

“…Even if I don’t want to…”

Yu Yiseol turned her head slightly and glanced at Tang Soso clinging to her side. Tang Soso’s eyes were practically shooting flames. Yu Yiseol’s face grew unusually pale.

“As you can see…”

“…I was worrying about you for no reason.”

Baek Cheon nodded.

“Then let’s move quickly.”

He pushed off and went forward. As Chung Myung prepared to follow, a voice laced with laughter drifted to his ear.

“I wish things would go that smoothly, wouldn’t that be nice.”

Chung Myung turned and saw Im So-Byeong half hiding his face with a fan, smiling oddly. Chung Myung said bluntly:

“You were all but dead; now suddenly you’re feeling alive, huh?”

“Isn’t victory or defeat part of the ways of life? If you get beaten and just stay down, you’ll just be beaten again. You have to stubbornly get up…!”

“…You could just die and be done with it.”

Chung Myung laughed incredulously.

The Evil Sect men could be useless at times, yet stubborner than weeds at others. It was amusing that Im So-Byeong, who rejected being of the Evil Sect, showed more Evil Sect temperament than anyone.

Then Im So-Byeong spoke in an unusually serious tone.

“As you know, Taoist.”

“…”

“He won’t stay idle. By now, no matter how hard Ho Ga-Myung muffles the screams, he would have already grasped the whole situation.”

Chung Myung nodded without speaking.

It wasn’t just anyone but the Hegemony Lord, Jang Ilso. If such chaos swept Gangnam and he still didn’t know, he wouldn’t deserve to call himself Hegemony Lord. Such a coincidence would never happen.

As Im So-Byeong said, Jang Ilso would already have grasped the situation. And he would likely try to steer it to the advantage of himself.

‘So he’s coming.’

Jang Ilso’s face, breaking into a wild grin, flashed in his mind, a visage so intense no one would forget once seen.

“What do you think?”

“About Jang Ilso?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you asking me that?”

Im So-Byeong scratched his head with the tip of his fan.

“To be honest, I can roughly guess what Ho Ga-Myung is thinking.”

“Ah, you guessed but still got trounced?”

“That’s why I said ‘roughly’! I might not know everything, but I can know the direction, the direction!”

Im So-Byeong, looking glum, continued in a slightly dispirited voice.

“This time I got the direction right, but I couldn’t read him to the end…”

“So?”

“But Jang Ilso is someone I simply cannot read. It’s not that he’s numerically overwhelming; it’s that I can’t discern his direction at all.”

Im So-Byeong, speaking in frustration, glanced at Chung Myung and smiled softly.

“But strangely, Taoist, you seem to read Jang Ilso’s thoughts to some extent. Perhaps your wavelengths match…”

“Should I see if that mouth can still talk after being smashed?”

“Ha. Ha… Just joking, just joking.”

When Chung Myung bared his teeth, Im So-Byeong recoiled slightly, but he didn’t lose that brazen smile.

“Anyway, Taoist, what do you think?”

“How would I know what that damned man is thinking?”

“Yes, yes. It would be like me gauging Ho Ga-Myung. But you can roughly guess his direction, can’t you?”

“…”

“It’s important. It might even be a matter of everyone’s lives.”

As Chung Myung frowned to speak, Im So-Byeong added one more remark.

“Don’t overthink it; just tell us how you would move if you were the Hegemony Lord right now.”

“…First, I move east.”

“Why?”

“Because that way I can draw in the Nine Great Sects.”

“Oh?”

“Anywhere east is fine. If I were Jang Ilso, the last thing I’d want is a head-on clash with the Heavenly Friends Alliance and the Justice faction.”

“He’d avoid clashing with the Heavenly Friends Alliance?”

“Yes. If that happened, the Nine Great Sects would watch from across the river and reap the windfall.”

“But couldn’t that be interpreted as wanting to defeat them in detail one by one?”

“Picking off one by one is for dealing with those who can’t move, not for those who choose not to intervene.”

“…”

“If the Heavenly Friends Alliance and the Four Sects Alliance fight, that old man Beop Jeong will surely target the Four Sects Alliance. Then everything becomes so clear. The Nine Great Sects, who have been standing aside, will unite under Beop Jeong to strike the Four Sects Alliance, for glory and gain.”

Im So-Byeong nodded.

It matched his understanding of the Justice faction’s nature: they sit out for any number of reasons, but when a sure victory and profit appear, they pounce greedily.

Compared to that, the Evil Sect, who don’t hide their desires, almost seemed more honest.

“That’s the situation Jang Ilso would least want. What he seeks is, quite literally, chaos. To produce such chaos, he must stir things into confusion, and that means drawing in the Nine Great Sects.”

“Even though the Four Sects Alliance would then be facing double the forces?”

“War isn’t fought by numbers or strength alone.”

“…”

“There’s also momentum. He would see it that way. If I were him, I’d go east. Then I’d slick oil on the feet of the Nine Great Sects who’ve been holding back and set them ablaze.”

“And then?”

Chung Myung shook his head after a moment of silence.

“Well… I think I’m no sane man either, but I’m not as twisted as he is.”

“…Understood. So Jang Ilso will be blocking our path.”

Chung Myung nodded.

“Probably.”

“Then… it becomes simple.”

Im So-Byeong chuckled.

“They probably don’t have our exact position, and even Jang Ilso can’t seal off the vast Yangtze river basin entirely. In the end it’s a gamble: either we’re lucky and reach the Yangtze, or we meet them before that. It’s a fifty-fifty bet.”

Chung Myung’s gaze darkened.

Seeing that look, Im So-Byeong felt his guess hadn’t been far off.

‘A gamble with lives at stake.’

It sounded terrifying at first, but thinking calmly, it wasn’t anything new—they’d done this countless times. It might even be slightly easier than before.

“Understood. We’ll support you with that understanding.”

“Good.”

Chung Myung glanced at the Southern Island Sect’s disciples following behind. They looked very tired, but they were keeping up.

The situation hadn’t deviated much from what he’d expected, at least not yet. But…

Chung Myung’s face hardened strangely as he watched ahead. An expression passed that others didn’t see; his eyes began to boil with intensity.

‘What is this foreboding?’

He hadn’t missed anything; he was certain of that. Yet oddly he kept feeling he’d overlooked something, something crucial that mustn’t be missed…

He closed his eyes briefly as if to press the feeling down, then opened them.

‘Not now.’

Even if he’d missed something, there was no way to undo it now. What he had to focus on was forcing a path to survival.

‘We will cross the Yangtze river no matter what.’

So that no one else would have to die or be sacrificed.

Unconsciously, Chung Myung gripped his sword and a blue vein stood out on the back of his hand.