The temporary residence that Shaolin and Kongtong hastily took along the Yangtze River was quiet, save for a cold voice coming from the innermost room.
"Explain it."
The abbot sighed inwardly at the reprimand from Peng Yeop, the lord of the Peng family and wielder of the Lightning Swift Sword.
"Abbot."
"I am listening, Lord Peng."
"Is it really so difficult to answer why this happened?"
"Lord…"
Peng Yeop's glare bore into the abbot as he spoke.
"I heard many stories on the way here, but one voice was the loudest: Shaolin abandoned the agreement and morality, forsaking Namgung on Plum Blossom Island."
The abbot closed his eyes.
"And while Shaolin and Kongtong stood idle, the Heavenly Friends Alliance arrived first to rescue the Namgung family without suffering any casualties."
"…"
"Abbot."
Peng Yeop bit his lip and pressed on.
"Please answer me. Is everything I've heard true?"
"Amitabha."
The abbot quietly chanted Buddhist prayers, as if trying to soothe his troubled mind. But to Peng Yeop, those prayers sounded like a man stepping back from responsibility.
"Say something!"
"Stop it!"
It wasn't the abbot who raised his voice, but Jong Ri-Hyung, the Demon Subduing Saint and leader of the Kongtong sect. His eyes blazed with anger as he glared at Peng Yeop.
"Does Lord Peng have the right to say such things?"
"Why am I not qualified to speak?"
"While Shaolin and Kongtong were trying to act here along the Yangtze River, where was the Peng family?"
"…"
"Even though the Peng family is far from here, it's not something for someone who just arrived to lecture us on how things should have been done! Especially when you didn't even show up!"
"It took time to get permission from the family elders," Peng Yeop replied.
"Is that even an excuse?"
Peng Yeop shot a menacing glare at Jong Ri-Hyung but had no retort; what was said was true. By the time they arrived, everything was already over.
"If only the Hubei Peng family had arrived on time, we could have devised a different plan! The reinforcements that were supposed to join us never came—what else could we do?"
"So you're saying you just watched Namgung die?"
"Watch them die? Don't be too harsh!"
"Was I wrong?"
Their voices grew louder and more heated.
The abbot silently observed their quarrel.
Peng Yeop, who looked ready to leap at Jong Ri-Hyung, suddenly sighed deeply.
"…I am sorry."
"…"
Jong Ri-Hyung seemed speechless at Peng Yeop's unexpected apology. Then, blushing, he coughed and said,
"No, I was too harsh, Lord Peng."
"…I didn't know I would arrive this late. Even the great elders opposed me."
"Hmm."
A family differed from a sect. Unlike a sect, which automatically accepts disciples when the time comes, a family is passed down through bloodlines, and succession only occurs when the next lord reaches a certain age.
The problem arises when succession happens too quickly.
Though they step down from the front lines, the great elders and former family lords still hold power and constantly interfere with the family lord's every action, like a king.
The Namgung family avoided this because Namgung Hwang was the youngest, but this was a common occurrence. Didn't the Sichuan Tang family face similar issues? It's a chronic problem in family sects.
Facing a family-like sect, it's difficult to cut down the great elders who meddle in the lord's affairs.
"I understand."
Jong Ri-Hyung nodded, though deep down he thought differently.
'It's fortunate the Peng family didn't arrive on time.'
Would things have been different if they had?
Well, even if the Peng family had joined early, the abbot wouldn't have changed his mind. That would have only invited greater criticism. Three sects that dominated the world had gathered, yet they merely watched the fire from across the river.
It was better to at least have the excuse that the Peng family arrived late, and they couldn't intervene.
"So, what will you do now?"
"…What do you mean?"
"What's done cannot be changed. Shouldn't we discuss what comes next?"
Jong Ri-Hyung nodded at Peng Yeop's words, already feeling frustrated. The abbot remained seated, silent.
"Abbot."
Peng Yeop called, and finally, the abbot spoke.
"First…"
"Yes?"
"I must apologize. I feel ashamed that two sects have suffered unnecessary humiliation because of this old monk's foolishness."
The abbot bowed deeply.
"No, abbot."
"Why do you say that?"
Jong Ri-Hyung tried to dissuade the abbot but smiled bitterly.
He was disgusted by the confrontation between the abbot and Chung Myung.
But that didn't mean he could fight Shaolin. If Kongtong had another ally besides Shaolin, they wouldn't have come all this way to the Yangtze River.
In any case, they were a sect on the same boat as Shaolin. They had no choice but to trust Shaolin, whether in life or death. The same was likely true for the Peng family.
The Namgung and Sichuan Tang families, the backbone of the Five Great Families, had left. That meant the remaining three families would soon enter a power struggle for supremacy.
Now, they should be called the Three Great Families instead of Five, but even that small prestige was a vital title in the martial arts world.
In that competition, the Peng family would definitely need Shaolin's help. No matter how far Shaolin had fallen, it was still Shaolin.
Even two sects, not Namgung or Sichuan Tang, could be easily suppressed by Shaolin's current strength.
This expedition was bold, undertaken despite opposition from the great elders and former family lords. To avoid criticism for returning empty-handed and with a bad reputation, Peng Yeop had to side with Shaolin.
In fact, Peng Yeop was in a position where he had to cling to the abbot more than Jong Ri-Hyung.
"But in the end, we can only know the outcome when everything concludes."
"…Does that mean the situation along the Yangtze River isn't over yet?"
"Yes."
The abbot spoke seriously.
"Right now, everyone is fixated on something too small. The reason we called the Nine Great Sects wasn't to save the Namgung family, right?"
"Ah…"
Jong Ri-Hyung looked at the abbot, shocked. He had forgotten this.
"We gathered because the Evil Four Precepts Alliance showed signs of invading the Northern Lands. It wasn't to save the Namgung family."
"Right, sect leader."
Feeling a glimmer of hope, Jong Ri-Hyung nodded.
It might be a blind man's bluff, but Jong Ri-Hyung knew some people believed in such bluffs.
"If we misunderstand our mission because of the world's criticism, a greater disaster will come."
"…Do you think the Four Precepts Alliance will attack the Northern Lands like this?"
"Yes. I think it's highly likely."
"But seriously…"
"If not, why would the pirate fleet still be in the Yangtze River? Besides, aren't we bound by the Yangtze River treaty, preventing us from attacking the Southern Lands?"
"When you put it that way…"
Jong Ri-Hyung's expression shifted subtly.
Logically, there was no reason for them to camp there.
Even if they were used to life on ships, would it be easy to wait indefinitely with poor supplies?
"Abbot, if they attack, it would be difficult for our three sects to handle them."
To be honest, Jong Ri-Hyung didn't fully understand the Evil Sect's power. But he was certain of one thing: if war broke out now, the three sects would suffer greatly.
'That must never happen.'
The abbot responded.
"Let's send out a proclamation to the other sects."
"A proclamation?"
"Yes."
The abbot nodded.
"A final request for support sent in the name of Shaolin. This time, it will include the leaders of the Five Great Families, the Hubei Peng family, and the backbone of the Nine Great Sects, Kongtong. That will give it more weight."
"Hmm."
"I don't know if they will respond, but at least we can properly inform them of the situation here."
"Yes."
Peng Yeop nodded.
Even if they didn't come to the Yangtze River, these three sects could claim they were preventing the Four Sects Alliance's invasion, so it was not a bad idea.
"But… isn't the Heavenly Friends Alliance here too?"
The abbot shook his head at Jong Ri-Hyung's question.
"Which is why we should send out a proclamation."
"What do you mean?"
"I do not trust the Heavenly Friends Alliance."
"…Abbot."
"I'm not denying their achievements. But no matter how I think about it, the fact that they entered Plum Blossom Island and returned without any casualties is simply suspicious."
"…"
"Even if only twenty people had died, I wouldn't say this. But did ten die? Or five? Only the Namgung family perished. Can we really trust the Heavenly Friends Alliance in such a situation?"
"That is certainly unnatural."
Peng Yeop nodded.
Jong Ri-Hyung, who had witnessed the whole situation, still looked uneasy, but to Peng Yeop's ears, the abbot's words sounded convincing.
That meant to those who hadn't seen the situation firsthand, the abbot's words seemed close to the truth.
No, perhaps it was meaningless.
People preferred pleasant lies to uncomfortable truths, so Peng Yeop had to believe those words.
His conscience churned, but he suppressed it, recalling how the family elders looked at him when he left.
"So please, the two of you, help me. If you do, everything will fall into place."
"Understood."
"I will do that."
After the conversation ended, a strange atmosphere filled the room. Unable to bear it, the two bowed their heads and rose from their seats. The abbot made no move to stop them.
Left alone, the abbot slowly held his prayer beads and rolled them through his fingers.
Right. It might be far-fetched. But…
'If the Four Precepts Alliance really attacks the Northern Lands, will this still seem far-fetched?'
If that happens, the entire situation will change.
Those who criticized them would turn to criticize the Heavenly Friends Alliance. They saw that the alliance could have killed Jang Ilso but avoided sacrifice out of fear for their own lives. That is what brought about this whole situation.
Sometimes, instead of waiting for the tide to change, one must change it oneself.
'If not me, then who?'
He closed his eyes tightly.
In the room where silence had fallen, only the faint sound of prayer beads rolling echoed.