Chapter 28 : The Duel (2)
A duel request arrived at the Hengshan Sect. Even in a peaceful era, there were always personal troubles, and there were always martial artists with a desire for improvement, so it was not a rare thing for a duel request to arrive at the Hengshan Sect. There were times when they had to sort out right and wrong, and there were also martial artists who wanted to determine the superiority of their martial arts in any era. But it was extremely rare for the content of a duel request to be for the exposure of corruption and the revelation of evil deeds. The sect leader of the Hengshan Sect, Mo Qingyang, checked the content of the duel request and, not understanding it, asked his son, the young sect leader Mo Xihan.
"What is this duel request? Conspiracy to assassinate, assassination, embezzlement, and insulting the deceased. What on earth is this about?!"
"I don't know the details either, but I have a guess."
"Tell me."
"Don't we periodically send trainees to the Martial Alliance from here?"
"We do. What about it?"
"It seems they are investigating, saying that the cost of the spiritual medicines, training tools, and manuals for those trainees is excessive."
"Tsk."
Mo Qingyang stroked his beard and clicked his tongue repeatedly.
"I thought it was something serious, but it's nothing."
"Yes."
It was true that the cost of spiritual medicines and training tools was great. But the Hengshan Sect was in a position to do so. They were one of the Nine Sects One Alliance, and they had shed a considerable amount of blood in the Demonic Cult War. After shedding so much blood, would it be a problem to have spent a little money? There were places that had shed less blood than the Hengshan Sect but spent more money.
"I don't know why they are doing this only to us."
"Perhaps Elder Seok Pacheon made some kind of mistake?"
"I doubt Elder Seok Pacheon would make such a mistake, but he is also human, so it's possible."
Even as the sect leader, he could not ignore Seok Pacheon. When he thought about his achievements of fighting on the front lines, making the name of the Autumn Wind Sword widely known, and firmly engraving the presence of the Hengshan Sect in the world, and his merits of negotiating with the Martial Alliance and receiving a lot of compensation. His military power and intelligence were so great that even Mo Qingyang had to respect him.
Furthermore, Seok Pacheon also cherished the Hengshan Sect terribly, so when he thought of his loyalty, tears naturally came to his eyes.
Mo Qingyang pushed the matter of the evil deeds written in the duel request to the back of his mind and threw away the duel request. When Mo Xihan took it and handed it to a servant, the servant naturally took it as firewood. Mo Xihan watched that and raised the corners of his mouth.
"Father, then should we just ignore it?"
"That's right. If we deal with things like this one by one, our class will drop. I don't know if he's an inspector or what, but the one who plays along is the fool. The name of the Hengshan Sect is not so easy."
"I think so too."
The father and son laughed "haha" and walked through the courtyard. Mo Xihan, who had been living cautiously after his regrettable elimination from the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, was also in a good mood because his father seemed to be in a good mood for a change. Mo Qingyang asked with a benevolent smile.
"How is your martial arts achievement these days?"
"Your son has recently achieved the eighth stage of the Hundred Changes Illusory Dance Sword."
"Hah. The eighth stage, you've worked quite hard."
The level of martial arts rises from the first stage to the twelfth stage, and the Hundred Changes Illusory Dance Sword was a particularly difficult martial art to practice, so even if he had only practiced up to the eighth stage, he was more than capable of doing one person's share. If his internal energy supported him, he could be called a first-rate master, so Mo Qingyang praised him, and Mo Xihan was proud.
If it weren't for Mo Qingyang's last words, Mo Xihan would have been in a good mood all day.
"It would have been nice if you were at the eighth stage during the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly..."
"...!"
"No, it's fine. It's too late to regret it now."
The past Dragon and Phoenix Assembly will not come again. It is held every ten years, so Mo Xihan, who would be over thirty by then, has no next chance.
"Aish..."
Mo Qingyang clicked his tongue as if he was very disappointed. The Hengshan Sect was not on good terms with the Wudang Sect. But this time, a dragon had come out of the Wudang Sect at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, but no dragon had come out of the Hengshan Sect. So people would think that the Wudang Sect was stronger than the Hengshan Sect. When he thought about the words he would have to hear until the next Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, his annoyance flared up.
Mo Xihan's fists trembled. Humiliation, anger, sorrow. Complicated emotions swirled. So when he was about to make an angry protest, an uninvited guest came in. It was one of the third-generation disciples whose name he couldn't even remember. How dare he interrupt the time between a father and son-! His anger flared up and he interrogated him in a sharp voice.
"What are you so flustered about?"
"It's a big problem. Flyers are circulating all over the neighborhood."
"What kind of flyer is causing such a commotion?"
"Well, it's hard to say..."
"Bring me that damn flyer. What's written on it that's causing such a fuss..."
The eyes of the two, who had received the flyer while grumbling, widened.
And the Mo father and son shouted at the same time.
"Damn it!"
* * *
Yang Gwan asked the giggling Jang So-gil with a reluctant expression.
"Do we have to go this far?"
"What do you mean?"
After sending the duel request, Jang So-gil had done one more thing. He had spread flyers and rumors containing all sorts of slander in the villages near Mount Heng, the headquarters of the Hengshan Sect. The content was about the embezzlement and death of Yu Heon and Wu Jeongchu, and that Inspector So had challenged the Hengshan Sect to a duel for their honor, but the Hengshan Sect had hidden the duel request because they were afraid of him.
"Isn't it enough to have sent the duel request? Is there a need to go so far as to create such flyers and spread rumors? And they haven't even refused the duel yet."
"Gwan-ah, Gwan-ah. You really only know one thing and not the other. Let's say you saw one cockroach in your room. Then would there be only one cockroach in that room?"
"Well, no. The cockroach would have laid eggs, so there would be many more, wouldn't there?"
"That's it. Since there is one cockroach named Seok Pacheon, the Hengshan Sect will be teeming with the eggs he laid. There will be more guys who think and judge like him. What's the point of such guys accepting a duel? They'll just pretend they don't know about the duel request and not even deal with it. Why would they accept a duel and get caught up in gossip? If they just stay still, it will be over, so even I would choose to stay still."
The opponent is a person who pursues practical benefits rather than honor. That was actually a happy thing for Jang So-gil. It was easier to deal with and predict the actions of an ordinary person who was trying to gain benefits, rather than a chivalrous man or a martial artist like Yang Gwan, whom he couldn't even understand.
"If he were a pure martial artist, it would be difficult for me to predict how he would come out. But if he's just a person who likes money and showing off, then how they will come out is already in the palm of my hand."
"Then what do you think will happen now?"
"At first, they were probably thinking of ignoring it, but since I've spread the flyers like this, they'll probably try to have a duel now. If they leave it alone, that damn honor of theirs will be damaged. It's a completely different story when you just ignore it and when a rumor has spread. They're probably already being talked about like crazy, so they'll be so angry they won't be able to see straight."
"But what if they really try to kill you then?"
"What do you mean, what if they really try to kill me? Of course they will try to kill me. They will try to kill me and show off the dignity of the Hengshan Sect with my head. If this happens, the Hengshan Sect cannot back down even if they want to. They will accept the duel, and a high-ranking person will also come. I hope the sect leader comes, but well. If the sect leader comes, it won't look good, so a representative will probably come."
"Then the young sect leader will probably come."
"The young sect leader? Was his name Mo Xihan? Do you know him?"
Yang Gwan nodded his head nonchalantly.
"I fought him once at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly."
"Oh, how was he? Is he strong?"
"He's strong, but he's full of himself. He tries to add variations even in unnecessary parts and overuses feints, so I dealt with him politely."
A variation is a modified technique that changes the path of the original technique, and a feint is a technique of showing a false attack. The sword of the Hengshan Sect is an extremely fast sword, so if you mix variations and feints, its power doubles. But no matter how fast a sword is, if it moves inefficiently, that speed becomes meaningless.
So Yang Gwan, who had seen through that, countered Mo Xihan's flashy Hundred Changes Illusory Dance Sword with the basic thrust of the Yang Family Spearmanship that he had practiced his whole life. The fight between the technique that emphasized accuracy and power, which was the opposite of the variations and feints of the one who pursued speed, was Yang Gwan's overwhelming victory.
A exquisite strike that pierced between the variation and the feint brought down Mo Xihan in a single blow.
"He was eliminated from the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly like that."
"Really? Then to avenge his defeat, he'll most likely come. This has become interesting."
Jang So-gil smiled slyly.
The stage was set. Now all that was left was to wait.
And four days after that.
A reply came from the Hengshan Sect, accepting the duel.
But it wasn't just a reply that came.
* * *
The stage for the duel was Luoyang, and the time for the duel was the next day.
The people of the Hengshan Sect, who were fired up, had set off with the messenger and had arrived faster than the messenger.
They probably thought it was a lightning-fast move to seize the initiative, but Jang So-gil had even considered that and had already finished his preparations. The people of the Hengshan Sect could see that fact when they saw the duel stage set up in Luoyang. Mo Xihan, who had come as the representative of the Hengshan Sect in place of Mo Qingyang, gritted his teeth.
"It seems you've made thorough preparations. It's quite different from Elder Seok Pacheon's prediction."
"Hah..."
Seok Pacheon looked at the duel stage with an expression that said he had been had. The structure of the duel stage had been modified in advance so that anyone who was interested could watch comfortably, and there were a great number of people murmuring, as if they had already promoted it for spectators to come. If it was like this even a day before, all the people of Luoyang might gather on the day of the duel.
"I'm sorry about this."
"This is unlike you, Elder Seok Pacheon. Didn't you put a tail on him?"
"He was doing such a foolish thing, so I removed the surveillance."
"Why would you do such a..."
"Do you think money grows on trees? If you put a special-grade surveillance on him, it costs a lot of money."
"But you should save where you need to save!"
The corners of Seok Pacheon's mouth went up slightly. He had tried to smile, but he couldn't even smile because the blood-like Mo Xihan was snapping at him. If this were the Hengshan Sect where no one was around, and not Luoyang, he would have immediately grabbed his head and thrown him at Mo Qingyang.
'Even Mo Qingyang can't treat me rashly, but you're shouting at me in a place with so many people?'
This was Luoyang. In Luoyang, Seok Pacheon was known as a benevolent person, so he couldn't do such a ruffian-like thing. So he suppressed his anger and his lips trembled.
"I'm sorry."
"Hmph... So who do you think will be fighting tomorrow?"
"He's not a person with many talents, so it will probably be Inspector So himself and his subordinate, Yang Gwan."
"I'll get straight to the point. Leave Yang Gwan to me."
"Yang Gwan? You?"
"Is there a problem?"
Seok Pacheon replied with a reluctant expression.
"Wouldn't there be a problem? The one who crushed you miserably at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly was Yang Gwan. It would be troublesome if it's a repeat of that time. Are you planning to make a fool of yourself in front of all the people of Luoyang?"
"It's different from that time!"
"Even if it's different, do you really have to prove it here? This matter is really important, so we have to win. How about you find another opportunity to prove it?"
"I want to prove it right now."
Mo Xihan's eyes were overturned. He was in a state where he could do anything to avenge his defeat. Was it the rashness of youth, or was it simply because he was impatient? Probably both. To the seasoned old monster Seok Pacheon, a rash young avenger was a perfect prey to be used, but the situation was not good.
'Tsk, tsk, tsk. You foolish fool!'
If Mo Xihan had been another martial artist, it wouldn't have mattered, but he was the young sect leader of the Hengshan Sect. Mo Xihan was the future of the Hengshan Sect, and Seok Pacheon's life was the Hengshan Sect itself. He could not ruin the Hengshan Sect with his own hands.
"Let's aim for the next opportunity. I'm asking you like this."
"I refuse. When on earth will the next opportunity come!"
"You foolish fool!"
"I'm definitely fighting this time!"
Without knowing Seok Pacheon's heart, Mo Xihan stubbornly insisted. For Seok Pacheon, it was a truly crazy and frustrating situation.
It was then. Jang So-gil was approaching from a distance, smiling brightly.
(End of Chapter)