Read Novel Full Chapter 1235: That’s What They Say? (5)
Chapter 1235: That’s What They Say? (5)
The weather in Southern Island is capricious. When the sun beats down hot, strong rains, winds, and typhoons occasionally sweep through. Because of that, those who have taken root and live on Southern Island have learned to take most typhoons in stride.
But now, looking through the pavilion window at the raging typhoon, Geum Yang-Baek, the sect leader of Southern Island, wore a deep sorrow on his face.
‘It’s raging out there.’
His mind was as confused as the scene before him. As the leader of the Great Southern Island faction he should lead everyone, but the burden on his shoulders felt unbearably heavy.
‘Rather...’
He watched the trees tossed about and couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh. Wishing everything would be swept away by this typhoon was not the thought one would expect from a sect leader.
‘I’ve grown weak too.’
No, perhaps it wasn’t that he had become weak, but that those he had to face were simply too mighty. Whether it was the Four Sects Alliance or the ruthless murim world.
Knock knock. At that moment, cutting through the sound of the wind, came the sound of someone knocking at the door.
“Sect leader. It’s Im Geom.”
“Come in.”
The door opened slightly and wind rushed into the room. A hanging scroll on the wall billowed up and then fell with a thud to the floor.
Geum Yang-Baek’s gaze fell on the scroll on the floor, more precisely, on the inscription written on it.
When the Wills are Aligned, Mountains can be moved. The spirit is like the sea, chivalry like the waves. Eight characters symbolizing Southern Island.
Geum Yang-Baek involuntarily squeezed his eyes shut.
“The wind is strong, Sect leader.”
Im Geom said, looking at the open window, and Geum Yang-Baek slowly shook his head.
“Leave it be. It won’t be as chaotic as what’s inside me.”
“...”
“How did things turn out?”
“First...”
Im Geom took a short breath and spoke.
“As you ordered, we tried to send the young disciples down to the households, but...”
“Hmm.”
“Just as we were about to carry it out, the typhoon blew in, so we decided to postpone it until the wind dies down.”
“I see.”
Geum Yang-Baek nodded slowly.
Perhaps full-grown men could manage, but sending out children with small feet into this storm would be reckless. Besides, while the typhoon blows the enemy is unlikely to invade, so it was not a bad choice.
“Did the children obey quietly?”
“There were some who resisted, but what could we do? We’d send them out even if we had to scold them into it.”
“...Well done.”
“And...”
Im Geom glanced at Geum Yang-Baek and then spoke.
“About the expulsion you mentioned...”
Seeing Im Geom’s expression, Geum Yang-Baek sighed and said:
“Do not hesitate. Save time.”
“...Yes. Among the 476 central disciples, including elders at the main mountain, seventy-eight have requested expulsion.”
Geum Yang-Baek silently closed his eyes again. Perhaps because the incoming wind was cold, his face looked even paler.
“...Fewer than I thought.”
“...”
“Is the children’s devotion to the sect deeper than I thought?”
“Well...”
Im Geom hesitated to answer. But when Geum Yang-Baek urged him with his eyes, he couldn’t hold back and let out a deep sigh.
“What you said, Sect leader, isn’t entirely wrong, but among the disciples there is a strong feeling that even if they accept expulsion and go down to the households, Four Sects Alliance won’t recognize them.”
“...”
“Then they’d just scatter and be picked off one by one, so they’d rather make a stand here...”
A bitter laugh escaped Geum Yang-Baek’s lips.
“Yes. That makes sense.”
“Even so, those who want expulsion seem to prefer choosing even a sliver of a chance.”
The two men did not bother to debate the loyalty or unity of those wishing expulsion; it was pointless now.
If the disciples lack affection for Southern Island, it is the fault of the sect master and the elders who have led Southern Island poorly; if they lack unity, it is also the fault of the leaders who failed to set an example of chivalry for the disciples.
No matter how they criticize, it would be like spitting in their own faces, so what could be said?
“The expulsion ceremony... Yes, the expulsion ceremony will be carried out as soon as the typhoon passes.”
“Expulsion ceremony?”
Geum Yang-Baek snorted self-mockingly. What meaning did such a thing have now?
“Very well. Just let them go. What a great thing is it to erase one name from the registry?”
“...Sect leader, it’s not that...”
“Hm?”
Geum Yang-Baek looked puzzled, and Im Geom replied with an uneasy expression.
“It’s not that I announced we’d hold the expulsion ceremony; it’s the disciples who want the expulsion ceremony.”
“...What did you say?”
“They... when the Four Sects Alliance questions them, they seem to want a definite shield.”
At that moment a wordless emptiness spread over Geum Yang-Baek’s face.
“Ha ha... ha...”
When the sun beats down at its peak, shadows are invisible. Southern Island was the same. When a sect’s prestige was at its height, no problem seemed to exist.
But at this moment, Geum Yang-Baek painfully realized otherwise.
‘What on earth have I been doing all this time?’
He had thought he was doing his best to continue the sect cultivated by his predecessors. But when darkness rolled over the sect, he was forced to realize that what he had believed in was nothing but an illusion.
“...Then we should grant it.”
“Sect leader...”
“It’s the last wish of those leaving the sect — can we not grant them even that?”
Watching Geum Yang-Baek mutter bitterly, Im Geom bit his lip hard.
“It’s an excessive demand.”
“Maybe so. But what can we do? It is us who taught them to be that way.”
“But...”
“Let’s stop.”
Geum Yang-Baek sighed deeply with a tired face.
“Elder Im.”
“Yes, Sect leader.”
“Any contact from the outside yet?”
“...Perhaps because of the typhoon, not yet...”
Geum Yang-Baek mocked himself again.
How many hours had the typhoon been blowing, that the messenger lines wouldn’t come because of it? It meant the messages likely would never come at all.
His gaze drifted listlessly back to the window. The black clouds that filled the sky seemed to reflect Southern Island’s present plight.
‘Typhoons always end and the sun will rise again. But...’
Will a day come when the sun rises again over Southern Island?
“Sect leader...”
At that moment Im Geom cautiously spoke.
“I think it’s time to make a decision.”
“...A decision?”
“Ja Yang is not entirely wrong. Sitting tight won’t necessarily produce an answer. Rather...”
“So you say an answer will come if we don’t endure?”
Geum Yang-Baek said with a voice mixed with a sigh.
“Yes. I mean leading the disciples and leaving Southern Island.”
“Yes, Sect leader. Since Four Sects Alliance doesn’t seem to lay hands on commoners, it doesn’t look like those who remain will face major trouble. So...”
“Do you think I haven’t considered that?”
“...”
“Haven’t I said it? It is Four Sects Alliance who most wants us off this island. If we leave, the only places we could go are the Southern Lands and Lam Ap. Is there even one place among them friendly to us?”
“That is...”
Geum Yang-Baek shook his head.
“This isn’t about choosing to live or die, but choosing where to die. Leaving the place you’ve rooted yourself to in a vain attempt to clutch at life a little longer and dying elsewhere is no deed for a human.”
“Sect leader...”
Geum Yang-Baek looked up and stared at Im Geom.
“Elder Im.”
“Yes, Sect leader.”
“Do you truly want to find a way?”
For a moment suspicion filled Im Geom’s eyes. Geum Yang-Baek’s slightly altered tone made him oddly alert.
“...Are you saying there is a method?”
“A method... Yes, there is. There is one method.”
“What method?”
“What we want is merely for the name Southern Island to persist and for the disciples here to keep their lives, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“To that end, shouldn’t we be ready to endure some humiliation?”
Im Geom’s face immediately hardened.
“C-could it be...”
“There is a method. A way to not only preserve the name Southern Island but to make it widely known across the land.”
Geum Yang-Baek laughed as if mocking himself.
“If we surrender to Four Sects Alliance and bow our heads beneath Jang Ilso, at least all the disciples could keep their lives.”
“Sect leader!”
Im Geom’s voice burst out louder than the thunder outside.
“You call that something to say now?”
“The enemy will accept it. No, they won’t merely accept; they’ll welcome us with open arms. They could make us the head of the Evil Sect who stands over the Nine Great Sects, something no one has achieved. They’ll treasure and honor us.”
“Stop it!”
Im Geom glared at Geum Yang-Baek with bloodshot eyes.
“Even if you said it as a jest, it’s not something the sect leader of Great Southern Island should speak! How can you utter such treacherous words?”
“Treachery, you say.”
Geum Yang-Baek sneered.
“What’s so treacherous about it? Those who profit from others’ blood and enjoy what benefactors should have, who are they to so proudly call it treachery?”
“Sect leader!”
“...From the start we were not so different from the Evil Sect. We were only pretending not to be.”
Geum Yang-Baek slumped back in his chair. He knew it was nonsense; he just wanted to voice it once.
“So... if not that, then just accept it.”
“...”
“Without allies, we can do nothing alone. Our opponents are Jang Ilso and Four Sects Alliance, and the mind-reading Ho Ga-Myung. What can we do against those who even toyed with Shaolin and Hebei? They’ve likely anticipated our moves and set traps.”
Im Geom bowed his head deeply. He couldn’t deny those words.
“What can be done...”
Rumbling thunder!
After his weak murmur came thunder and the crash of lightning.
“I believed.”
“...”
“I believed that rising high, gaining fame, and being praised meant we were doing well. The truly important things weren’t that. What meaning is there in praise dumped on a hollow shell of a sect?”
“...”
“We should have fulfilled our duties. We should not have forgotten why Southern Island is Southern Island. We now pay the cost of being swayed by what we should not have been swayed by. I’m simply sorry to the disciples who will pay that cost along with the mistakes of my predecessors and me.”
“Sect leader...”
Geum Yang-Baek’s gaze turned to the far distance.
Somewhere across that sea, they would be.
‘I should have seen them once in person and offered my apology.’
Now he could not, and it pained him. He only hoped ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) his feelings would someday be conveyed...
Kraaaash!
At that moment the door burst open violently as if it would shatter.
“Sect leeeaaader!”
Soon the drenched elder Ja Yang rushed in with a look as if he’d seen a ghost.
“What’s the matter!”
“Four Sects Alliance? Has the Four Sects Alliance come?”
The two ashen-looking men leapt to their feet.
“N-no, it’s not that...!”
“...Then?”
Ja Yang shouted with a face drained white.
“You have to come see us! A guest! A guest has arrived!”
“A guest?”
Geum Yang-Baek was about to ask at the absurdity of it when Ja Yang shouted again.
“Mo-, Mo-, Mount Hua!”
“...Huh?”
A voice almost like a scream echoed.
“Mount Hua has come!”