Chapter 37
To the Alliance (2)
The guards around Zhuge Hyeon revealed themselves.
Baek Socheon recognized several of them. Though few in number, they were all warriors of the highest caliber, as befitted the Grand Strategist’s personal guards.
“Long time no see.”
“Welcome, sir.”
On his way back from the main headquarters of the Shinhwa Gang, Baek Socheon had stopped at the nearest branch in Pugang and sent a message to the Hyeoncheon Pavilion. Even so, he had never imagined that Zhuge Hyeon would come all the way here himself.
“Please come inside.”
“It’s hot. Let’s talk out here.”
“Very well.”
The two sat on the wooden platform in the courtyard.
Baek Socheon respected Zhuge Hyeon. The two had built a profound trust in each other during the last war. Zhuge Hyeon believed they had been able to stop the Cheukcheon Alliance because of Baek Socheon, while Baek Socheon believed it had been thanks to Zhuge Hyeon.
“How have you found life here?”
“Don’t you already know everything?”
Zhuge Hyeon smiled.
“That’s true. I know everything.”
After all, he received daily reports on every incident in Munseong involving Baek Socheon.
“People are the same everywhere. There are good people, and there are rotten bastards.”
Zhuge Hyeon nodded in agreement.
“Even so, Munseong was particularly troublesome. Had Pavilion Lord Baek not come here, it would have become a serious problem later.”
“I was fortunate.”
“It truly was fortunate.”
What if the enemies cultivated here in the rear had struck them from behind in the middle of the war? Or what if the Martial Alliance had trusted them with an important mission?
The mere thought was horrifying.
“The Leader of the Cheukcheon Alliance came to meet me personally because he is confident.”
“Confident that he can win the war.”
Baek Socheon nodded.
After a brief silence, Zhuge Hyeon asked him,
“Do you have any liquor?”
“I thought you had quit drinking.”
“Let’s have a drink together. It has been a long time.”
Zhuge Hyeon had stopped drinking during the height of the war. He had continued to abstain even after the armistice. But now that he was with Baek Socheon, he suddenly felt like having a cup.
“Please wait a moment.”
Baek Socheon brought out some liquor, and the two drank together.
“It is pleasant to drink again after so long.”
“I’m sorry it isn’t good liquor.”
“Not at all. I know nothing about the taste of liquor. To me, the person I drink with is everything.”
Perhaps because it had been so long since his last drink, Zhuge Hyeon’s face turned red after only a few cups.
“Pavilion Lord Baek, return to headquarters.”
“……”
“We need you.”
“Has the Alliance Leader approved it?”
“He said he would leave it to me.”
Asked whether the Alliance Leader had granted his approval, Zhuge Hyeon answered that the matter had been entrusted to him.
How was Baek Socheon supposed to interpret that?
He could easily tell that the Alliance Leader had not agreed readily.
After a brief pause, Zhuge Hyeon spoke again.
“Very well. I’ll be honest. The Alliance Leader did not express any particular opinion about bringing you back.”
As always, the Alliance Leader had expressed neither approval nor disapproval.
When Zhuge Hyeon had gone to confront him over the matter, he had said:
—Please allow me to bring Baek Socheon back. I will take responsibility for every problem that arises from it.
The Alliance Leader had probably been displeased by his actions. Zhuge Hyeon knew perfectly well that the Alliance Leader had even taken Baek Socheon’s sword away, yet he had still asked to bring him back. From a certain perspective, it could even be interpreted as insubordination.
However, Zhuge Hyeon had already resolved to bring Baek Socheon back.
As the provocations from the Heukcheon Alliance grew increasingly severe, he had become ever more conscious of Baek Socheon’s absence. The void left by him had only continued to grow.
After reading the message Baek Socheon had sent this time, Zhuge Hyeon became certain.
The Martial Alliance needed him.
No—to be precise, Zhuge Hyeon needed him.
—Please trust my judgment, Alliance Leader.
Zhuge Hyeon had dared to push the matter this far because he believed in one thing. The Alliance Leader might resent him, but under the present circumstances, he could not afford to drive Zhuge Hyeon out.
That would probably only make the Alliance Leader hate him more.
Zhuge Hyeon revealed his honest feelings.
“I am not confident that I can fight this war without you.”
It was not easy for him to say.
To seek so desperately for someone who had lost his internal energy was as good as openly admitting that Zhuge Hyeon himself had lost confidence.
“I will not be of much help.”
“Even without your internal energy, you still possess the experience of surviving a war. Please help me. I know I have no right to ask this of you.”
If he had felt this desperate, he should never have sent Baek Socheon away in the first place.
In the end, Zhuge Hyeon was no different from the others in the Martial Alliance. He had watched the Alliance Leader’s mood and remained silent, only to come pleading now.
It was an utterly selfish thing to do.
But at present, desperation had overwhelmed his shame.
Baek Socheon had yet to agree, but Zhuge Hyeon continued by explaining the details.
“If I had my way, I would immediately appoint you as the Secret Pavilion Lord again or make you Commander of the Iron Sword Corps. Unfortunately, the Alliance’s internal circumstances will not allow it.”
Bringing Baek Socheon back at all was already an enormous risk.
“Instead, I will establish a new unit under the Hyeoncheon Pavilion and place you in charge of it. A full corps would be impossible, but I should be able to authorize a company-sized unit.”
Then came an even more extraordinary offer.
“I will grant you complete authority over personnel, as well as independent operational authority and immunity from prosecution.”
The other organizations would undoubtedly complain that such treatment was unfair.
Zhuge Hyeon, as Lord of the Hyeoncheon Pavilion, would have to bear full responsibility for the backlash.
Even with such a political burden, he was determined to bring Baek Socheon back.
How could Baek Socheon fail to understand that Zhuge Hyeon was staking his entire life’s career on this?
Baek Socheon silently drank for a while before finally speaking.
“Very well. I will return.”
“Ah, thank you. Thank you very much.”
Zhuge Hyeon’s face lit up at Baek Socheon’s answer.
He truly felt as though he had gained an army of a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses.
“Forgive my impertinence, but I have one request.”
“Tell me.”
“Please grant me access to every place that a Pavilion Lord is permitted to enter.”
In other words, he wanted access to every place the Pavilion Lords could freely enter.
Examples included every archive in the Myriad Book Repository and the final level of the Martial Alliance’s underground prison, where all visitation was forbidden.
Only those holding the rank of Pavilion Lord or higher were permitted entry. Baek Socheon himself had regularly visited those places when he was Lord of the Secret Pavilion.
There were secret manuals he wished to examine again, and someone in the underground prison whom he wanted to meet.
“Understood.”
Indeed, if Zhuge Hyeon was unwilling to grant him at least that much exceptional authority, there would have been no reason to bring Baek Socheon back in the first place.
There would be fierce opposition, but that was Zhuge Hyeon’s burden to bear.
Zhuge Hyeon bade him farewell.
“I will go ahead and wait for you. I hope to see you at the Alliance before long.”
“Have a safe journey.”
Zhuge Hyeon departed.
Left alone, Baek Socheon remained seated on the wooden platform and gazed at the moon hanging in the sky.
A sigh escaped him before he realized it.
“Phew.”
Zhuge Hyeon wanted him to return and join the war.
But Baek Socheon’s thoughts were different.
We must not win the war.
We must prevent the war itself.
***
Whoosh! Swish!
In one corner of the training ground, Beon Saeng was swinging his sword.
Sweat poured from his body, but he refused to give up as he repeatedly practiced his forms.
The martial arts Beon Saeng knew were those he had learned at a martial academy. Orphaned at a young age, he had wandered from place to place until a small rural martial academy took him in and raised him.
He had endured many hardships there, constantly watching the moods of those around him in exchange for food and shelter.
Fortunately, he had at least been allowed to learn martial arts. After growing up, he had barely managed to gain admission into the Martial Alliance.
When he finally finished a round of training, Beon Saeng noticed Baek Socheon watching him from a distance.
“Brother!”
“You’re working hard.”
“This is nothing compared to your training, Brother. Still, now that I’ve started training again after so long, whether I become stronger or not, it simply feels wonderful.”
“You’ll keep feeling wonderful until the day you suddenly get yourself killed.”
“Living briefly like a flame doesn’t sound so bad compared to living a long life in a daze.”
As Beon Saeng prepared to resume training, Baek Socheon splashed water on him.
“Here. Put out that flame for a moment. Bring Branch Chief Im to my house. I have something to tell you.”
***
“I am returning to the main headquarters.”
Im Chung and Beon Saeng were both startled by Baek Socheon’s announcement.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Within the next few days.”
“So soon?”
The two were deeply shocked.
They had overcome the crisis involving the Shinhwa Gang in magnificent fashion and believed that only pleasant days lay ahead.
Yet just as everything had begun to improve, they were being forced to part.
It was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
“There will be no retaliation from the Shinhwa Gang. You don’t need to worry about that.”
A long silence followed.
Too many thoughts filled their heads, leaving them unable to decide what to say.
In the end, Beon Saeng blurted out the most instinctive and primitive thought among them.
“Brother! How can you do this to us? Where are you going without us? Please don’t abandon us! Take us with you!”
“All right.”
A sudden silence fell.
Beon Saeng blinked.
“What?”
“I said you can come with me.”
“We’re allowed to come?”
“Yes. But only if you can give up your lives here. Once we arrive, you will have to begin again as ordinary warriors, not as a squad leader and a branch chief. Can you do that?”
Silence fell again.
After a moment, Beon Saeng was the first to speak.
“As long as you are willing to have me, Brother, I want to follow you.”
He then turned toward Im Chung.
Unlike Beon Saeng, who had no attachments, Im Chung had a great deal to lose.
Beon Saeng would only be stepping down from squad leader to ordinary warrior. Im Chung would be falling from branch chief to ordinary warrior.
Moreover, Im Chung had a wife and child.
It was by no means an easy decision, so Beon Saeng assumed he would be unable to follow them. That made him feel guilty. By abandoning the life they had shared and following Baek Socheon, it almost felt as though he were betraying Im Chung.
As expected, Im Chung could not answer easily.
While he was still agonizing over the decision, Beon Saeng asked another question.
“But my martial arts are weak. I’m worried I’ll only become a burden if I follow you.”
“You have the wrong idea about me. I am not virtuous enough to embrace a walking burden.”
“Then why are you taking me?”
“Because you’re trustworthy.”
“…!”
Beon Saeng was overwhelmed with emotion, though it lasted only briefly.
“And you’re just enough of a pushover. You’re softhearted, which makes you easy to work to the bone.”
“Aren’t you revealing too many of your recruitment secrets?”
“It’s fine. Those aren’t your only weaknesses.”
Beon Saeng appeared dumbfounded, but inside, he was delighted.
What mattered was the first reason.
He was trustworthy.
Beon Saeng turned toward Im Chung, who was still struggling with his decision.
“I’m sorry for deciding on my own, Branch Chief. No—Brother.”
He had naturally assumed Im Chung would be unable to follow them.
But as always, every life contains unexpected turns.
“If I am allowed to bring my family, I will follow you as well.”
Baek Socheon nodded.
“You may.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
“Wouldn’t they become a burden?”
“A family is not a burden. It is a source of strength.”
Im Chung was swept away by emotion at Baek Socheon’s firm answer.
“Brother!”
He was overjoyed, yet at the same time, he felt ashamed and apologetic.
Baek Socheon had said the words that should have come from Im Chung himself.
Baek Socheon spoke in a gentler tone.
“I know what you’re worried about. Stop worrying and trust me. If going there means you will die, then staying here will not save you.”
They were meaningful words, spoken with the coming war in mind.
Whatever the case, the lives of Im Chung and Beon Saeng had changed dramatically at that moment.
Then came yet another change that would carry them one step further.
“Follow me outside.”
Baek Socheon led the two of them out.
“If I’m going to work you to the bone, you’ll need to be useful.”
“Could it be?”
Beon Saeng’s eyes trembled.
“That’s right. I’ll teach each of you a few sword techniques suited to your level.”
It was a gift for their willingness to abandon their current lives.
Baek Socheon had survived battlefields for the past twenty years. He had long since reached a level where he could devise sword arts suited to warriors of their caliber on the spot.
Baek Socheon drew the sword hanging at Beon Saeng’s waist.
Shing.
Beon Saeng and Im Chung opened their eyes wide and focused with all their might, determined not to miss a single movement or word.
Baek Socheon looked down at the sword for a moment before speaking with a profound gaze.
“When a martial artist grips the hilt of a sword, he is also gripping its blade. Never forget that.”
It was advice containing the profound meaning drawn from Baek Socheon’s long experience.
The two did not fully understand what he wished to convey, but they engraved his words in their hearts.
“We will remember it and reflect upon it always, Brother.”
Someday, the time would come when they understood precisely why he had said those words.
Next, Baek Socheon had Im Chung demonstrate his swordsmanship. He had already watched Beon Saeng training, so there was no need for him to demonstrate again.
After examining Im Chung’s swordsmanship, Baek Socheon taught each of them a different sword art consisting of seven forms.
He devised the two sword arts on the spot, basing them on their individual levels and the techniques they had already learned.
Naturally, the new sword arts were on a completely different level from anything they had known before.
“I just created them, so they have no names.”
“With your permission, we would like to name them ourselves!”
“Do as you please.”
Baek Socheon carefully corrected every detail of their stances.
Whenever they did not understand something, he accepted their questions and explained it thoroughly.
When it came to martial arts, Baek Socheon became a different person.
His prickliness and habitual laziness vanished. He focused solely on martial arts, and the two men were soon swept up in his intensity.
As they learned, both of them found themselves wondering the same thing.
Was learning swordsmanship always this easy?
Every word he spoke entered their ears naturally and was immediately understandable.
After teaching them the sword arts, Baek Socheon had them perform the forms again. Only then did he finally say,
“Once you master these sword arts, you should at least stop getting beaten wherever you go.”
“Brother, thank you so much.”
The two bowed to him simultaneously.
For them, this was nothing less than an extraordinary stroke of fortune.
“It’s too soon to thank me. These sword arts may someday cause your deaths.”
Beon Saeng expressed his gratitude with a seriousness unlike his usual demeanor.
“If that happens, it will be because I made the wrong decision. Perhaps I will fail to retreat when I should, or neglect my training and fail to execute the techniques properly. That would be why I died. It would have nothing to do with you teaching me martial arts today.”
He continued,
“Do you know something? This is the most overwhelming moment of my life. No one has ever shown me such tremendous kindness before.”
Tears formed in Beon Saeng’s eyes.
He had grown up an orphan and clawed his way through life entirely on his own.
This was the first time anyone had ever shown him such immense kindness.
“This is how people get fooled by kindness and turn into pushovers. Someone treats you well a few times, and you devote your youth to them, then even offer up your life. That’s how the world and its organizations exploit young people like you.”
“I wouldn’t mind being that kind of pushover.”
“Someday, you will. So never allow yourself to be deceived by the kindness of people who intend to use you.”
Baek Socheon did everything he could to destroy Beon Saeng’s emotional moment.
But at least for today, Beon Saeng’s gratitude was as indestructible as diamond.
“Yes! I’ll allow myself to be fooled just this once!”
Baek Socheon smirked.
“Looks like I’ve hooked myself one proper pushover.”
Im Chung and Beon Saeng broke into bright smiles along with him.