Book 19 Chapter 15

"Dividing through silence… conversation

—Bilyeon vs. Cheongheun

"Hey, Hyeon-un! Did you hear? The eldest disciple was captured, that very eldest disciple!"

Jin Ling's face, still slightly flushed, looked as if she had heard the impossible had become possible.

"Ah, Miss Jin. Of course, I heard. The entire academy has been in a festive mood since last night because of it. In fact, Miss Jin, you are too late to know."

There were also rumors that several people within the Vermillion Bird Sect had been drinking celebratory wine. At the same time, Hyeon-un looked at Jin Ling with a peculiar gaze.

"But I don't think it's time to worry about the eldest disciple, who seems like they wouldn't die even if killed now?"

"Yes? Why is that?"

Jin Ling retorted with a look of bewilderment.

"It's because your lover, Gong Sang, was also captured a little while ago."

And then Hyeon-un immediately had to cover his ears.

Screeeech!

As a grating sound reverberated through the room, a heavy door opened, and someone entered.

The young man sitting on a chair placed in the center of the room squinted slightly at the sunlight coming through the doorway.

"It's been a while, Sect Leader Namgung."

The young man in white, who entered through the open door, greeted without even nodding his head.

"It has been a while, Young Hero Baek!"

Baek Muyoung's hand, reaching for the chair to sit, paused for a moment. However, he soon pulled out the chair without much change in his expression and sat there.

"I regret meeting you in a place like this."

Namgung Sang replied, looking around.

"Certainly, it's not a good place to invite people. Forget about elegance, it's utterly gloomy."

The surroundings were stiflingly dark, and the only openings were coin-sized holes in the windows, far out of reach. It was impossible for light to enter properly. Not only was the lighting poor, but the illumination was also terrible, with only a single candle casting a faint light in the darkness, making the interior appear even more somber.

It wasn't just the facilities. When entering this room, one had to be welcomed by fierce guards standing on either side of the door. The iron gate, the only entrance used at the time, was now firmly closed. It was undeniably not a place for socializing.

"It's not too late. I'll forgive you if you apologize."

Namgung Sang said as if bestowing a favor.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot apologize. It's official duty. I hope you understand."

Namgung Sang realized his favor had been rejected.

"I won't understand, but I won't condemn you."

Although it meant he would understand Namgung Sang's position, Baek Muyoung wasn't particularly pleased. The initial war of nerves ended at a suitable point.

Namgung Sang asked again.

"But why did you call me here? No matter how I think about it, I don't think I've been involved in anything so spectacular that I would be summoned to such a grand place?"

"Perhaps you never know? Your memory might not be as good as it used to be. If you think about it calmly, maybe something will come to mind?"

The name of this room was 'Interrogation Room,' and Baek Muyoung intended to do work befitting its name.

"You are well aware of the incident that has been causing a stir in Namchang recently, aren't you?"

"You mean the serial murder of entrance exam candidates? But I didn't kill anyone! I didn't even see them, let alone kill them. How can I kill someone I haven't seen? Unfortunately, I don't have such miraculous abilities."

Then Baek Muyoung shook his head with a regretful expression.

"False testimony can be used against you later. So, think again carefully."

"False testimony? Can you be responsible for that statement?"

A sword-like flash glinted in his eyes, which usually held a friendly smile. Only two people could dull this light, and Baek Muyoung was neither of them.

However, Baek Muyoung was also in charge of mourning at the Gujeong Council. It was a matter of face to be easily overwhelmed by mere force.

Baek Muyoung and Namgung Sang's gazes collided head-on. If someone had been watching this scene, it wouldn't be strange to mistake sparks flying in the air for their intense gazes.

"You can kill people with those eyes, but you can't change facts. Know that if I were to say something I couldn't take responsibility for, I wouldn't have said it in the first place."

Baek Muyoung replied in a voice that showed no signs of being intimidated.

Clap, clap!

"Let them in."

At Baek Muyoung's clapping signal, the heavy iron door opened once more. Four young men, with their heads bowed in fear, walked in one by one. Judging by their attire, they were clearly disciples of renowned orthodox sects, but their demeanor was far from commendable.

"What do you think? Have you seen these four people before?"

Namgung Sang's eyes widened. He had certainly seen them before. And very recently.

Then he noticed something strange.

"One, two, three, four…"

No matter how many times he counted, there was one finger left. His fingers hadn't grown an extra one, yet there was one left.

"That's odd."

"Did you remember something?"

Baek Muyoung asked with a hint of anticipation.

"One is missing."

"Hmm, really? Who is missing?"

Baek Muyoung feigned ignorance, even though he knew the missing person was wrapped in straw and still lying in the Muwon Grand Repository of Corpses.

"The one who spat!"

"The one who spat?"

The utterly absurd answer was far from what he had expected.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

His words started to get jumbled as he became confused. He was also gradually getting angry. Yet, he was beginning to curse his own position, which required him to endure.

"There was one more person with these friends who violated public etiquette. Surely…"

Namgung Sang looked at Baek Muyoung with wide eyes and made a gesture of poking twice with his index finger. Baek Muyoung nodded twice in affirmation.

"You probably won't be able to meet him for a while."

"Why is that?"

"He's dead."

At that answer, Namgung Sang's eyes widened.

"How did that happen?"

"That's what I want to ask you."

Baek Muyoung replied with a slightly annoyed tone.

'Could it be the eldest disciple?!'

The events of last night flashed before his eyes.

"Leave that one alone!"

Even though he had wished him well when he heard that order, he himself hadn't expected him to actually be dead.

Namgung Sang looked closely at the four young men who had been summoned to get a general sense of how things were unfolding. However, they were all so deeply bowed that he couldn't discern their facial expressions.

Seeing that, Baek Muyoung couldn't help but be puzzled.

'Hmm, why are they acting like that? Are they all afraid of this Namgung Sang?'

All four were huddled like frightened rabbits, trembling pathetically. No one dared to look Namgung Sang directly in the eye.

'How could he have done it?'

His guess was accurate. The four of them had been gently and refreshingly caressed by Namgung Sang's hands and feet just yesterday, and the traces of that were still evident.

Namgung Sang clicked his tongue and said,

"Did you commit a crime? Why are you all so intimidated? Surely, if I saw your faces, I wouldn't just rush at you and peel off your skin?"

In other words, if you don't show your face, I'll rip off your skin. He too had been corrupted by someone. At his words, the four of them, startled as if struck by lightning, lifted their heads. Only then could Namgung Sang examine their faces.

"No, why are your faces so bruised? Did something happen yesterday?"

Namgung Sang asked, looking alternately at their bruised and wounded faces with a pitiable expression.

'You did it!'

Although they desperately wanted to shout this, they took the lesson of yesterday as a mirror for tomorrow and spoke in unison.

"Ah, nothing happened."

"See? You said nothing happened."

As Namgung Sang shrugged, Baek Muyoung couldn't hold back and exclaimed.

"You've really changed a lot! You weren't this shameless before! What do you mean nothing happened? Just looking at you trembling like that tells me everything! So, stop denying it and tell me the truth!"

The veins on his usually neat forehead were bulging, turning dark red.

"The world and people are not fixed! People are in motion. So, don't get so worked up. I'll tell you my story."

* * *

"Kaak! Spit!"

One of the challengers, who was clearly ganging up on him, spat on the floor with an insolent and audacious attitude. To make matters worse, he didn't forget to make the initial sound of "Kaak!"

Namgung Sang's face, which witnessed this absurd scene—or rather, a scene of suicide—turned ashen in an instant.

'Oh, God!'

He sighed towards the heavens that did not respond. The blood draining from his face began to retreat rapidly. This idiot!

'Wh-what did he do…!'

His head throbbed so much that he wanted to bang it.

But it was too late. Spilled water cannot be scooped up, and spat saliva cannot be swallowed back. However,

There was one person who could make that possible.

"Gong Sang~!"

A voice that rose on 'Gong,' descended on 'Sang,' and stretched on 'Ah.' Namgung Sang instantly recognized it as a voice filled with deep frustration.

"Yes, Eldest Disciple!"

Namgung Sang replied immediately.

"Leave that one alone!"

Even without moving his fingers, he knew who "that one" was.

"Yes! Understood, Eldest Disciple!"

It meant to handle the rest alone, but Namgung Sang didn't complain at all. Just as an actor cannot act without being on stage, a being, as long as it exists as a being, cannot be completely free from the constraints of time and space. The good thing about truth is that it applies randomly everywhere. Truth doesn't discriminate. Therefore, choosing the right time and place to rebel is a clear truth that transcends even time and space.

When viewed in the mirror of truth, which shines untarnished by the dust of ages, the state of time and space was currently very bad. If you mess with it at the wrong time, Namgung Sang himself might get caught up in it.

'That damned fellow dared to stir up a hornet's nest…'

He ground his teeth inwardly.

'Does he think this is some street brawl…'

He didn't know who that absurd fellow was, but he had made a huge mistake. Once a fire is lit in a gunpowder keg, it doesn't go out until everything explodes. An emergency measure was needed.

This was not a common fight between neighborhood ruffians. If he thought so, he was greatly mistaken. This was an extremely difficult battle against a true master.

The fellow's intention was ridiculously obvious. It was probably a petty attempt to gain the upper hand with a dirty impression and an equally sordid mouth. However, as mentioned before, this was not a low-level street brawl, and acting rashly without properly assessing the opponent was tantamount to hastening death.

Trickery doesn't work on a true master. That fellow should have known that. The moment he appeared, he was as good as exposed. No, in fact, even the subtle signs and footsteps before he appeared were enough to assess him. So, if he had just stayed put, he might have been in the middle. But that kid, failing to grasp his own status, his opponent, or the location, ran wild like a mudskipper. He couldn't even control his itchy mouth and committed a fatal taboo.

'Let's have a match!'

… Did he say that?

One must be extremely careful when splitting words in half. The cut edge is so sharp that it can sometimes harm oneself. The fact that he couldn't distinguish between when to divide and when not to divide showed how poor his sense of proportion was. However, the opponent he faced was by no means a kind person who would consider such trivialities.

Bilyeon detested baseless bravado and abhorred vulgar behavior. After all, such things were unnecessary and useless to the truly capable.

That absurd fellow had to take responsibility for his fatal misjudgment. For the world always demands responsibility for the decisions people make.

'Karma (因果應報).'

He would have to realize wholeheartedly today that this four-character idiom, boasting of a long history, was not just made for Buddhist propaganda.

* * *

"So, did you kill him?"

Baek Muyoung, his face close to his nose, pressed him with a sharp voice.

"I didn't kill him! So, don't try to lead me on!"

Namgung Sang replied in an exasperated tone.

"Tsk, you're caught. But did you really do it?"

Baek Muyoung's tone was still one of disbelief.

"I'm telling you, I didn't. You can believe me."

Namgung Sang replied with a look that seemed to say he understood why.

"You're crazy…"

"I agree!"

This was the first instance of agreement today.

"The quality of the students these days has really declined."

"That's exactly what I'm saying. What surprises me more is that they actually think they'll pass at that level."

"There are far more people who don't know themselves, even when they are closest to themselves, than those who do."

"They probably mistake closeness for knowing everything. It would be healthier to have a moderate amount of delusion."

"So, what happened then?"

"I instinctively sensed that young Master Bi was going to take care of that fellow. So, I decided to clear the surroundings so that the matter could proceed smoothly. So, young Master Bi…"

"Wait a minute!"

Baek Muyoung raised his hand and stopped him.

"Why?"

"I've been wondering since earlier, why do you call that friend Bilyeon 'young Master Bi'? Isn't he your junior?"

"Cough! Ju-junior…"

Namgung Sang coughed up blood and mulled over the terrifying sense of unease that word evoked. In some aspects, it was true, but such minor details had no impact on his reality. It sounded fresh because it lacked realism.

"I think 'young Master' is too polite a title."

Calling him "Hey, Bi. Ryo. Yeon!" or "Hey, Ryo Yeon, junior!" was a punishable offense just by imagination.

"I respect people as they are, regardless of age or grade. Does getting older make someone superior?"

He knew that this answer was merely a superficial excuse.

He didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't do it, not because he didn't want to.

Why not?

Aren't there only two people here, himself and Baek Muyoung? Even if the eldest disciple had sharp ears and keen eyes, their attention wouldn't reach this far. So, there should be nothing to hold him back. Yet, he couldn't call the eldest disciple Bilyeon, Ryo Yeon junior, or even 'that guy' in a moment of recklessness. He wanted to shout, "The king's ears are donkey ears!" even in a secluded bamboo forest. However, thanks to the constant nagging and painful lessons he had received, his tongue instinctively interfered before his mind could.

The compromise he reached was the title 'young Master Bi.'

'Do I need mental therapy…'

It was truly problematic to be intimidated by the eldest disciple's presence even when he wasn't around. However, knowing what happened to Noh Hak, who bravely uttered some unspeakable words (but very satisfying at the time) to the eldest disciple at the brink of life and death, whenever he uttered harsh words, the memory of that scene would flash by, naturally leading to a refinement of his language. Moreover, that letter incident was a terrible mistake even now. He felt like he was living with an extra life. Compared to that, wasn't he just being interrogated now? It was much more advantageous to be cautious when one could, rather than panicking after something happened.

'I am in a place where the eldest disciple's eyes and ears cannot reach, yet I cannot escape his restraint. If I restrain myself, who can save me but myself?'

Does the saying "The one who tied the knot must untie it" apply in this case? He had to admit that he was trapped. The longer he thought about it, the more miserable he became.

"Ah, well, titles are just markers for convenience, aren't they? It doesn't hinder the delivery of information, so let's continue with yesterday's story."

"Please do."

Namgung Sang returned to that time. He was consulting about the fate of those four men then.

* * *

"Shall we go somewhere else and talk for a bit?"

Namgung Sang instinctively sensed the tragedy that was about to unfold and didn't want these young ones to witness it. It was obvious that it wouldn't be a pleasant sight. However, these kids, completely oblivious to his thoughtful and kind consideration, impudently chirped the following.

"It's fine to continue here, Senior!"

Crack!

A blue vein throbbed on Namgung Sang's forehead. Naturally, his voice also became rough.

"Just shut up and follow me!"

In the fierce spirit contained in his glaring eyes, all five flinched.

'This is all for you!'

To reject such gratuitous grace! They probably never imagined he was showing them favor.

However, he didn't want to show children something so terrible. He felt it was his duty as a senior not to expose young children, who hadn't even established their identities, to something educationally unsound. Furthermore, he wanted to avoid lowering the academy's reputation beyond a certain point.

'That idiot is destined for educational guidance.'

The problem was that this educational guidance was structured in a decidedly uneducational manner. His eldest disciple was a person who was skeptical of the theory that one could regain their crooked path by showing human interest or having calm conversations with those who had already gone astray. In fact, the possibility of that was very slim. It was easy to contaminate clear water, but it took thousands or tens of thousands of times longer to purify it than to dirty it. This is where the difficulty of education lies. Once values are set, they rarely change. Therefore, those values must be broken. Otherwise, humans will never learn to reflect. As time passes, they harden and eventually become as solid as granite.

It takes too much time to persuade or resolve through conversation. In such cases, most people give up. However, there are also those who do not give up at all. Bilyeon belonged entirely to the latter category. He not only never gave up but also spared no means. The common sense question of whether the means justify the end was always dismissed in his presence.

"If you intend to harm others, you must be prepared to be harmed yourself! I don't care about the rights of the accused! When there are so many victims who cannot even be properly compensated, where do we have time to worry about the rights of the accused?"

Namgung Sang knew that he sometimes agreed with that opinion. The rights of the accused were contrary to the principles of this martial world, which considered revenge a virtue. They decided to quietly drag him elsewhere and administer immediate justice.

In fact, Namgung Sang himself didn't want to see the scene. However, he had absolutely no intention of stopping it.

'After being stepped on a bit, they'll quickly realize how big the world is.'

No matter how much they fought in the well, stepping on them once with the hooves of a running horse outside the well meant instant death.

Namgung Sang tried to distance himself from the scene as much as possible. He had no desire to get caught up in trouble due to some short-sighted fool. Only when the junior trainees trailing behind him started complaining did he finally stop. Didn't they lack the ability to grasp the atmosphere? Like seeks like, these guys didn't seem to possess much patience or discernment either.

Namgung Sang examined the faces of the riff-raff left to him one by one. Qingcheng, Hainan, Kunlun, and Hua Shan…

He could have laughed, saying it was fun to pick and choose, but he couldn't.

'Well, it's probably because I'm from one of the Eight Great Families…'

The route was unclear, but it was evident that the team assignments had already leaked. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come together so amicably. In any competition, whenever significant gains are involved, there are always minor and major corruptions. This has been the case for a thousand years and remains so now. It probably won't change much in another thousand years. Because when substantial gains are at stake, humans are always tempted to commit corruption. The desire for corruption grows in proportion to the potential gains. If one is not trained to resist such temptations, the outcome is always the same.

'Sigh! Let's finish quickly and go back!'

Namgung Sang sighed and thought so.

"Did you greet him earlier?"

Namgung Sang asked. He was talking about the friend left behind—written as friend, but read as idiot.

"No."

There was no time, and no reason to do so.

"Then I'm sorry."

Namgung Sang said in a bitter tone.

"Why, Senior?"

He wanted to say that he had never had such thoughtless juniors, but he stopped himself, not wanting to be called petty. Instead, he gave one piece of advice.

"It will be the last."

In many ways, it would be the last.

"What do you mean…"

'He really didn't understand…'

Well, it was understandable. He decided to show a little more kindness.

"Please take care of the body. Even if he was rude, he was still a friend."

Namgung Sang said quietly, looking at the distant sky with a wistful gaze.

* * *

"That's how it happened."

"So that's how it happened. And then?"

"That's it."

"So, you didn't kill them?"

"We didn't."

"Then why did they die?"

"Well, why did they?"

"…"