Chapter 285: Great Desert (3)

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Myeong-gyeong did not know Cheong-su’s circumstances. But Myeong-gyeong did not ask. Why Cheong-su had vanished from Wudang, why his face was ruined.

Certainly Myeong-gyeong was not the scatterbrained Senior Brother I knew. Of course he might be that way because he had aged since we first met, but from the start he seemed a person of careful nature and deliberate action by temperament.

“I never thought I would see you here.”

“The same for us.”

I hesitated briefly, then asked.

“Are your parents in the Great Desert as well?”

“Ah. They have passed. Fortunately I was at their deathbed.”

“I see.”

“It is thanks to you. Let me offer my gratitude again here.”

“Not at all. Anyone would have done the same.”

They were words Myeong-gyeong did not understand. But there was no need to explain. It was a somewhat miserable story for a child to hear. Myeong-gyeong did not look particularly curious either.

“In any case, welcome. How did you end up flowing all the way to the Great Desert?”

“Before that, I am curious why Martial Uncle is in the Great Desert.”

“Simply after my parents passed, I had nowhere to set foot in the Central Plains. So I came to the Great Desert.”

“Simple. But what position have you taken here?”

“I have been here about three years. After you breathed that strange aura into me, my sensory range grew sensitive enough that I can sense killing intent. The people of the Great Desert valued that and put me in charge of checking the temperament of abducted people.”

“If someone has heavy killing intent, you do not accept them?”

“Exactly. If you widen your sensory range you will see—the Gale Sands surround the tent. When I give the signal, they can kill.”

“That is cruel.”

“Less cruel than cruel people wandering the world.”

I nodded. At least that much was true. Sometimes merely living brought harm to good people.

“By the way, you have been noisy lately. The New Justice Association and whatnot—you made something strange.”

“Indeed. I took on something troublesome.”

“Guard your neck well. If the crown is too heavy, the neck breaks.”

“Of course.”

“I did not believe the rumor that you had died. I thought you were the sort who would somehow come back alive.”

“Haha. Your faith is remarkable.”

“Did you not return just so?”

Beyond that, we exchanged news of Wudang people and unburdened ourselves to each other.

—What punishment did Cheong-hwa receive?

—No particular punishment. He received brief seclusion in the training hall.

—That is fortunate.

Finally Cheong-su asked me about Cheong-hwa’s welfare by voice transmission, then cleared his throat.

“So why have you come to the Great Desert?”

“It will take a little explanation.”

I gave a brief explanation. That I had been invited to the inauguration of a place called the Palace of Heavenly Worship, and there received the Emperor’s request.

I left out that Myeong-gyeong was imperial blood. It seemed unnecessary.

After hearing me out, Cheong-su clicked his tongue.

“There is a more complicated calculation in this than what one hears. With the New Justice Association, relations with the Imperial Court cannot be good.”

“That is so.”

“And the Mad Buddha……”

“You know of him?”

“I know. Why would I not.”

My eyes lit up. I thought the matter might resolve easily.

“Do you know where he is as well?”

“I do. He is at the Four Sons Banner.”

“The Four Sons Banner. I do not know where that is.”

“It is close. Two shichen on horseback.”

“Indeed.”

He even knew where. Was this not completely free. But only then did I grow a little afraid. It was fear according to my principle that nothing came free.

“But there is a problem.”

As expected. Not a chance.

“What is it?”

“He is hidden in a formation.”

“A formation?”

“Yes. An Absolute Formation. A formation that has never once been broken. I do not know who laid it. It is only known that once you enter, you cannot come out.”

“Did the Mad Buddha go in there?”

“He did. Since he cannot come out anyway, we treat him as dead. That too, I understand, for several years now.”

This was troublesome. The Emperor wanted the Mad Buddha’s head. That meant I had to go in.

‘He handed me a troublesome task.’

Well. I had not thought the Emperor would give me a clean job. He probably already knew the Mad Buddha was trapped inside the formation.

Was it mockery after ordering the impossible, then laughing if I failed? Cowardly, but a simple and effective method.

“I roughly understand what you mean.”

“Indeed. It is an all too obvious trick.”

“But it is a sure method at that.”

If I was baited into the formation, good; if not, he would mock me. A truly splendid Emperor.

“I will go to the Four Sons Banner for now. I have to see the formation once to know.”

“Do not even think of entering.”

“Understood, Martial Uncle.”

“I am no longer your Martial Uncle. How could I be your Martial Uncle?”

“Then what should I call you? Uncle?”

“That would actually be more comfortable.”

He had said it as a joke, but accepting it like that made me feel a little sorry. Normally I would have snapped back sharply. Naturally, naturally—but Cheong-su too seemed to carry a debt of heart toward the Wudang Sect.

“In any case, Martial Uncle. I will go to the Four Sons Banner and return.”

“I told you not to call me that. But you cannot leave right away.”

“What?”

“You are nominally abducted, are you not? Would they release abducted people so easily?”

“That is true.”

Meeting Cheong-su made me forget we had been abducted. In a way the objective had been achieved easily. I had found the Mad Buddha’s location.

But I had chosen to be abducted by that method. How was I to escape that abduction?

“Can we not flee in secret?”

“There is nothing saying you cannot. But if you flee, it will be awkward for me.”

“Why?”

“I screen Central Plains people fit for the Great Desert. If I let you through and you flee within a day, my ability will be doubted.”

“Hmm.”

So that was how it worked. That was a bit of a headache.

“But it is fine. If you will flee in secret, do it. They will not kill you. You must have felt it coming as abductees—they are not so barbaric.”

“No. It is all right. I cannot cause trouble for Martial Uncle.”

“I said I am not your Martial Uncle.”

I ignored him and stood. Myeong-gyeong stood as well.

“What will you do?”

Myeong-gyeong, who had been quiet, spoke. Cheong-su, still seated, sent a curious look, but I had no intention of answering.

“Let us go out for now. Martial Uncle, I will come greet you again when this is over.”

“……Go.”

Cheong-su closed his eyes again. He looked resigned, having realized he could not strip the word Martial Uncle from me.

I took Myeong-gyeong and left. It had been a pleasant time meeting someone I had never expected.

“I never thought we would meet Cheong-su Martial Uncle here.”

“Me neither.”

“It seems Cheong-su Martial Uncle did something wrong in Wudang.”

I paused briefly, but I did not think I could hide even this. As expected, Myeong-gyeong was considerably quicker on the uptake than he appeared.

“Yes. That is so.”

“But a Martial Uncle is still a Martial Uncle. A person cannot live without making mistakes.”

Though that had been quite a large mistake. But if I said that much I would look like a nag, so I did not.

“So what are you really going to do?”

Myeong-gyeong asked. I shrugged.

“When I asked a Great Desert person if he was from the Central Plains, how did he react?”

“He told you not to insult him?”

“Yes. More precisely, he said he was a brave warrior.”

“And?”

“There is no one easier to provoke than upright, brave warriors.”

I rubbed my hands together and laughed. Myeong-gyeong gave me a slightly contemptuous look.

“Junior Brother. You seem like a very cowardly person.”

“Not at all. I am perfectly upright.”

I looked around. Before long I could see the largest and most splendid building. That was my destination.

Great Desert men with spears stood there. As I approached, they grew wary.

“What business do you have?”

Fortunately one among them could speak Central Plains speech. I made a martial salute and greeted them politely.

“I am a Central Plains person who came to the Great Desert today.”

“I see. You did not know because it is your first visit, but this is where the Great Chieftain resides. You must not enter freely.”

“I somehow expected as much. That is why I came.”

“What?”

The Great Desert man asked again in disbelief at my answer. Among Central Plains people, we were probably the first to approach them without fear.

“What do you mean?”

“I wish to seek audience with the Great Chieftain.”

“Why would a Central Plains person seek audience with the Great Chieftain?”

“Because I wish to decide who is the true warrior.”

At my words, the corners of the Great Desert men’s eyes turned sharply upward.

“What mad talk is that! Has your gall crawled out of your belly?”

Truly, as Cheong-su had said, they were courteous. Though insulted and their faces red, they did not swing their spears. At this level they seemed more patient than Central Plains people.

“I mean it literally. Or are Central Plains people unable to challenge for the Great Chieftain’s seat?”

“There has been no such precedent.”

The Great Desert man cut my words like a blade. Well, of course. Who would dare challenge for the seat of the Great Chieftain of the Great Desert?

But broadly the system I had imagined seemed correct. The head of warriors would be the bravest and strongest warrior. And such types always accepted challenges.

Strength. That was the legitimacy of the leader. The standard for leadership was simpler than in the Central Plains. And I preferred this side.

“Stop speaking nonsense and get lost! The Great Chieftain is not one your frail body can handle.”

“Whether it is long or short, do you not have to try to know?”

“If you do not leave, know that you will face the entire Gale Sands.”

That was a bit troublesome. But then some shadow covered us from above. The Great Desert man and I both looked up. Something enormous was falling toward us from there.

“Damn, mad!”

The Great Desert man and I startled and leaped back.

Boom!

We had dodged by a hair’s breadth. Something fell between us. Hidden in dust, it was hard to see what had fallen, but it seemed like some enormous boulder.

“Heh heh heh.”

But a human voice came from the boulder. A voice like echoing in a cave. Though no internal energy was in it, resonance rang from the voice.

Inside the dust a black shape grew larger. He seemed to bend his body, then straighten. My head naturally tilted upward.

He truly seemed two heads taller than me. A giant of at least nine cheok. On his back he carried a spear that looked tremendously heavy.

“Was it you who spoke. That we should decide the seat of the true warrior.”

As the dust cleared, the human shape emerged. A body hard as though carved from stone was visible.

I felt not the slightest internal energy from him, yet tremendous pressure poured from him.

A type of martial artist unseen in the Central Plains. A man who had trained external arts to the extreme.

I made a martial salute and bowed my head.

“That is correct.”

“Hahaha. Interesting!”

The Great Chieftain planted the spear shaft in the ground and laughed boldly. As the spear shaft struck earth, ripples of air spread in a circle. Tremendous force.

“You—though your body is frail, you seem strong.”

The Great Chieftain spoke. I was slightly surprised. He had seen through my strength to some degree.

I slowly set my hand on Bright Elegance’s scabbard. Touching Bright Elegance after so long sent a thrill racing through my whole body.

Capture the king to seize the bandits. To catch the enemy, you had to catch the leader first.