Chapter 344 : Fools Can Not Be Taught (下愚不移) (2)
Chapter 344: Fools Can Not Be Taught (下愚不移) (2)
"Sichuan is without a doubt Emei’s home territory. The Hwangbo Family of Shandong had no business sticking their nose in, and that's a breach of convention. So, shouldn't we reach out to the Martial Alliance and ask them to mediate?"
Hearing the Sect Leader's words, the elderly nun who served as both an Elder and the head of the Outer Sect Disciples cautiously brought up an issue. "Does that mean you plan to send a letter to the Martial Alliance first, secure their agreement, and then move?"
For some reason, the Sect Leader fixed her with an icy stare.
"And how am I supposed to put off avenging our Junior Sister until then? And what if the Martial Alliance decides they'd rather push for a peaceful resolution?"
Only then did the Elder understand what her senior sister actually had in mind.
"You plan to send the letter to the Martial Alliance, but strike the Maitreya Luminous Cult before their reply comes?"
"Exactly. If we've already dealt with the Maitreya Luminous Cult by the time the Alliance responds, all they'll have left to mediate is the dispute between the Hwangbo Family and us. That way, we can settle our Junior Sister's revenge cleanly."
"I will follow your lead, Senior Sister."
The Elder bowed her head, and the Sect Leader handed her a letter she had already prepared.
The Elder took it and asked another question. "What will you do about the Qingcheng Sect?"
The Sect Leader clenched her jaw at the mere mention of them.
Just thinking about what those Qingcheng bastards had done was enough to make her grind her teeth.
She had heard that they stood there and watched Abbess Miejue die right in front of them, and then just turned around and retreated without doing a damn thing.
"Send them a letter as well, for now. We need to find out if leaving her to die was just the rogue decision of Cheongmok or if it was the official stance of the whole Qingcheng Sect."
"...And if it turns out it was the whole of Qingcheng's decision, are you planning to go to war with them too?"
"Of course. If the whole Qingcheng Sect signed off on this, it means those bastards left my junior sister to die on purpose. They want to cripple Emei's strength so they can swallow all of Sichuan for themselves."
Abbess Jinqing's words carried a ferocious edge. Then she drew a slow breath and reined herself in.
"But not yet. The Maitreya Luminous Cult comes first."
No matter how blinding her fury was, she hadn't completely lost her mind. She was well aware that picking a fight with both factions at the exact same time was a terrible idea.
The Maitreya Luminous Cult was an upstart with no real foundation, and she was confident she could handle them. Qingcheng, however, was another matter entirely.
Seeing her Sect Leader shaking with bloodshot eyes as she tried to hold back her temper, the Elder bowed deeply.
"I'll draft the letter to Qingcheng myself, Senior Sister. You haven't slept a wink since receiving the sad news about our Junior Sister, so please, try to get some rest."
"You're right, I should. I need to be ready to march straight to the Maitreya Luminous Cult the second our sister's funeral is over."
***
Right around the time the Emei disciples set off for Qingcheng and the Martial Alliance with their letters, an unexpected guest showed up at the Maitreya Luminous Cult's branch in Guangyuan County.
Around the time Emei Sect's disciples were setting off in separate directions, letters in hand, bound for Qingcheng and the Martial Alliance alike, a visitor arrived at the Maitreya Luminous Cult's branch hall in Guangyuan County.
"Didn't you return to Qingcheng just a few days ago?"
Il-mok asked Taoist Master Cheongmok in a flat and unamused tone.
Taoist Master Cheongmok scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
"Ahem. If it isn't too much of a bother, I was hoping to ask for a bit of guidance on a few matters."
"Guidance? I thought we already covered that the last time you were here...?"
Even with half his face hidden behind a mask, you could practically feel his disbelief radiating from his eyes and the slight twist of his lips.
'Is he trying to freeload his way all the way up to reach the Realm of Truth?’
It was the textbook definition of saving a drowning man, only for him to demand you fish out his luggage. Because of that shamelessness, everyone in the room, from his maids to the Hwangbo girls, was staring at the Taoist in utter bewilderment.
"Ah, don't misunderstand. This time, I came to seek guidance of a more worldly nature."
That only made everyone look even more baffled, though for entirely different reasons.
A Taoist coming to ask for worldly wisdom?
What kind of bullshit was this?
Realizing he needed to be more specific, Taoist Master Cheongmok opened his mouth with a sheepish expression.
"The truth is..."
***
Just a few days prior, Taoist Master Cheongmok had returned to the Qingcheng Sect with his disciples and sat down for a chat with the Sect Leader.
"So let me get this straight. You're telling me that Qingcheng's current methods are wrong?"
"Yes, Senior Brother."
Taoist Master Cheongmok answered without a moment's hesitation; his eyes were clear and steady, almost like a child.
For some reason, meeting that gaze head-on felt uncomfortable for the Qingcheng’s Sect Leader.
He cleared his throat before speaking. "Then what would you have us do, Junior Brother? The war against the Blood Cult left Qingcheng weakened. If we just leave the sect like this, how do we face the founding ancestors who devoted themselves to building it?"
"I do agree that we need to rebuild Qingcheng's strength, Senior Brother. I'm only saying that the method is wrong."
Taoist Master Cheongmok didn't lecture him or scold him. He just spoke his thoughts plainly.
"And I believe our founding ancestors would want the same. Think about it. What did the Founding Patriarch have in mind when he established Qingcheng? He would have wanted his disciples to cultivate the Way here, and he would have left behind his martial arts to protect those disciples and the innocent people around them."
"And yet, instead of using the arts our ancestors passed down to cultivate the Way and protect the innocent, we're recklessly expanding our territory and pushing out sects that have done nothing wrong. Is that truly what they would have wanted?"
"Hah. I know what you're saying is right in principle, Junior Brother. But more disciples means more civilians we can protect. And raising disciples costs money."
Taoist Master Cheongmok slowly shook his head at the Sect Leader's excuse that they needed to gather power first before they could afford to do the right thing.
"Senior Brother. There is a saying that haste makes waste. Although the concept of that saying is from a different school of thought, it's a basic truth you learn just by living in this world. When you think about it, isn't that exactly how the Demonic Cult's Demonic Arts work?"
He was using Demonic Arts as an example, the kind that promised rapid gains but risked driving you insane.
"Do you realize how easy it is to misread what you just said? The way it sounds, you're comparing Qingcheng's conduct to that of the Demonic Cult."
"How could I compare us to the Demonic Cult? I was simply trying to point out that we are heading down a dangerous path if we keep this up."
The Sect Leader let out a quiet sigh at Taoist Master Cheongmok's calm response.
"Junior brother, are you seriously suggesting we just go around helping commoners and live off whatever spare change they voluntarily toss in our alms bowls? That might be fine for the two of us, but what are our disciples supposed to do, and what about the generations after them?"
The Sect Leader knew Taoist Master Cheongmok was right in principle. But as with most lofty ideals, applying that kind of utopian thinking to the real world proved incredibly difficult.
Taoist Master Cheongmok understood that well enough. Because of this, Taoist Master Cheongmok smiled brightly.
'Ha. What a fool I've been. What was I so afraid of that instead of having these discussions for the sake of a better Qingcheng, I just went along with everything?'
Someone who chased ideals and someone who worried about reality sat down to hammer out a compromise.
That was the true way to ensure Qingcheng's prosperity.
It might bruise some feelings along the way, but Taoist Master Cheongmok didn't mind.
They had all grown up together within Qingcheng for decades, and he believed without a doubt that they would come back around to each other in the end.
However, this was merely Taoist Master Cheongmok's personal sentiment.
"Junior Brother, you drop a complicated question like that in my lap and then just sit there grinning. What exactly are you so happy about?"
The Sect Leader grumbled with an expression that suggested his head was aching.
"I'm just happy that we can sit down and discuss the future of Qingcheng together like this, Senior Brother. Hahaha."
The Sect Leader felt something odd at Taoist Master Cheongmok's straightforward answer. More accurately, he finally figured out the source of the subtle out-of-place feeling he'd gotten the moment Cheongmok returned to the sect.
"I thought you seemed a little different since you got back. Did you manage to attain some sort of enlightenment out there?"
"Yes, Senior Brother. I managed to get past one wall."
Hearing Taoist Master Cheongmok's calm reply, the Sect Leader let out a short laugh.
"Hahahaha. A blessing for Qingcheng, wait a minute, since it turned you into an old geezer who obsessively nitpicks over rules and principles, maybe it's actually a disaster for Qingcheng?"
"Hahaha. That's going a bit far, Senior Brother."
Taoist Master Cheongmok Cheongmok laughed lightly, prompting the Sect Leader to shake his head in mock exasperation as he continued.
"Half of that was serious. I know you're right, but there are plenty of elders and disciples in this sect who have to worry about the harsh realities of life. So, if you want them to fall in line with your ideals without grumbling, you need to bring some sort of practical solution to the table."
Taoist Master Cheongmok didn't actually want the others to just blindly agree with him without a word of complaint. He had just realized how much he enjoyed these discussions. But he wasn't naive, and he understood what the Sect Leader was getting at.
'A practical solution...'
He wasn't quite sure why, but as he pondered the issue of finding a solution, his thoughts naturally drifted to the Maitreya Luminous Cult.
'Come to think of it, I heard they've been showering the common folk with all sorts of charity. Where in the world do they get the money to do that?'
***
"So that's why I came back here."
After hearing out everything that had passed between the Qingcheng Sect Leader and Taoist Master Cheongmok, Il-mok stared at him with a flat look.
‘...’
'Is this old man insane? He goes and uses the Demonic Cult as a cautionary example, and then comes to the Demonic Cult for advice.'
Considering the Demonic Cult was the exact negative example he used when lecturing his Sect Leader about haste ended up making waste, coming to that same cult for advice was the definition of hypocrisy.
Lucky for him, Il-mok wasn't some brainwashed fanatic who would foam at the mouth just because someone talked trash about the Demonic Cult to his face.
Even Il-mok fully agreed that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Demonic Arts were an utterly unhinged set of skills that perfectly fit the metaphor.
Moreover, his maids had spent so much time pretending to be benevolent members of the Maitreya Luminous Cult alongside him that they miraculously managed to keep themselves from snapping and attacking the Taoist.
"So let me get this straight. You came here because you want to know where we get the cash to hand out all this charity to the commoners?"
"Hahaha. That's right."
Taoist Master Cheongmok smiled brightly as he answered. It was a smile that didn't quite suit an old man's face.
'Yep. Definitely insane.'
Though in a completely different way from someone like Dokgo Ryong.
Il-mok was shaking his head when he caught the eyes of Hwangbo Yeon and Hwangbo Se-hui.
Both of them were looking on with curious expressions.
'Hmm.'
He thought it over for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh and answered.
"Our sect makes its money through trade with the Western Regions."
They weren't exactly trying to keep the merchant caravans a secret, so people were bound to figure it out eventually anyway.
As long as no one found out they were actually the Demonic Cult, there was no harm in telling the truth.
"Trade with the Western Regions? Isn't that nearly impossible with the Demonic Cult in the way?"
"The Desert Route is impossible, but the Steppe Route is viable. The problem is the friction with the various nomadic tribes along the way. And even after reaching the Western Regions, dealing with the conflicts with the Muslim practitioners was no small headache either."
"My, my..."
Taoist Master Cheongmok murmured, and then something about the way Il-mok had phrased it caught his attention.
"But judging by the way you talk about it, it almost sounds like you traveled through the northern steppes and the Western Regions yourself?"
"Well, of course I went myself. You think I'd send someone else into a place like that?"
At Il-mok's matter-of-fact reply, Taoist Master Cheongmok and the two Hwangbo daughters all looked visibly surprised for a moment.
"Oh!"
Hwangbo Se-hui suddenly burst out with an exclamation and jumped to a conclusion out of nowhere.
"So that's why the Maitreya Luminous Cult pulled out of the war against the Blood Cult! The Incarnation had to personally make the journey to and from the Western Regions to earn the money to feed the common people!"
Faced with her incredibly dramatic deduction, Il-mok had to aggressively force his face to remain completely neutral.
'Uh, no? I just backed out of the war because I was hoping you guys would slaughter each other and die?'
Not that he had any desire to tell them the truth.