Chapter 63
Clashing with the Battle King (2)
Green Forest was a massive bandit confederation that followed the Green Forest's Battle King, the man known as the Green Forest Battle King.
In the process by which Green Forest came to be recognized as Green Forest, the Green Forest Battle King walked a path of blood the likes of which the Central Plains martial world had never seen.
Before he was called the Battle King, he was, naturally, branded a public enemy of the martial world, just like the Thousand-Faced Sound Demon.
However, rather than fleeing, he chose a head-on confrontation.
After defeating every challenger over three days and nights without rest, the Battle King instead went straight to Shaolin.
γDivine Monk! Let's have a bout!γ
His figure, clad head to toe in blood and holding two axes, was truly the incarnation of the Battle King.
Not even Shaolin's Hundred and Eight Arhats Formation was able to subdue him.
In the end, the Divine Monk himself had to step in.
After a ferocious battle, the Divine Monk subdued the Battle King, yet instead of imprisoning him in the Repentance Cave, he released him on the spot.
γHeh heh heh. An interesting fellow indeed. Go on, do as you wish. Shaolin will bear witness for you.γ
Granting him the wings called Shaolin.
Thus, on the slopes of Mount Song, the Green Forest Battle King declared to all.
That even banditry had its own Dao.
γFor that reason, I shall take only what is appropriate.γ
The Central Plains martial world was thrown into chaos.
How could a mere bandit confederation be officially acknowledged?
Yet the Green Forest Battle King stood firm.
γAny bandit who does not wear a green headscarf is not Green Forest, and striking them is none of my concern. But if you lay a hand on those who wear green headscarves, the Green Forest brethren across the land will not remain still.γ
It was little different from a threat.
However, separate from that, under the Battle King's command.
Green Forest instead suppressed bandits who did not belong to Green Forest.
γEven banditry must be carried out properly.γ
As a result, it paradoxically brought about greater public security.
Thus, the Central Plains martial world lost its justification to subjugate Green Forest.
Because the bandit suppression they themselves had failed to do was paradoxically accomplished by Green Forest.
γWho was it that left the bandits unattended all this time?γ
The Battle King's actions were nothing short of radical, and by now, Green Forest had even come to be recognized as a part of the Central Plains martial world.
That is to say, no one could order the Green Forest Battle King to eliminate Green Forest as they did with Cheon Muyang.
"So that means."
"...."
"Are you saying I should eliminate Green Forest?"
"That is so."
"And if I say that cannot be done?"
"Then we will have no choice but to cross blades once more."
"So you've gone blind to all else just because you dared to break my axe."
Crack, craaack!
The ground beneath the Battle King's feet split apart.
Even without his axe, the Battle King's presence, unleashed at full power, made its absence imperceptible.
"I am asserting the full rights of the Cheon Clan."
Heh.
The Battle King sneered.
"All those called prestigious orthodox sects cry out about rights, one and all."
The Battle King did not believe.
In the very words 'prestigious orthodox sect.'
"Who was it that left things unattended all this time?"
Before Green Forest came into being, who was it that turned a blind eye to the bandits and water bandits that sprang up like mushrooms after rain?
"I neither acknowledge nor believe in your so-called rights."
A profound distrust could be felt.
Beneath it, an equally profound and dreadful resentment could also be sensed.
"What I believe in is solely my own martial might."
The Battle King discarded his axe.
As if to prove that even with bare fists he was worthy of being called the Battle King, an endless fighting spirit bloomed.
"It was a good conversation, but the negotiations have broken down."
The Battle King was purely enraged.
Yet, for some reason, Cheon Muyang understood that pure rage.
Perhaps because of that.
Standing before the Battle King's fury that seemed capable of shattering Mount Tai in a single blow, Cheon Muyang was instead calm.
'He's right. The prestigious orthodox sects were more than capable of suppressing the bandits, yet they did not.'
Each word spoken by the Battle King laid bare the paradox long harbored by the orthodox martial world.
"I see. Your words are also correct."
"What?"
"Those called prestigious orthodox sects have indeed, as you say, left the bandits unattended."
"...."
"This was likely because countless vested interests were involved."
Bandits or water bandits alike.
They likely refrained because it was more profitable not to suppress them.
"Let me be clear. That way of thinking is utterly wrong."
It was wrong.
For no reason should it ever have been done.
At least not if they were to be called prestigious orthodox sects.
Why are they called orthodox in the first place?
No matter how much the age of chivalry has faded, if they even turn away from the very foundation that makes the orthodox sects orthodox, then what difference is there between them and the unorthodox?
"It was truly an arrogant way of thinking."
Perhaps Green Forest itself was a calamity born of that arrogance.
"However, all of this is the fault of those who had power yet chose not to exercise it."
"...."
"At the very least, it is not the fault of those who live hand to mouth, one day at a time."
Yet the Battle King, too, was wrong.
When there are those who committed wrongdoing.
How could one hold others accountable instead of them?
"That is why the grand cause of Green Forest is only half correct."
Right and wrong.
Thus, Cheon Muyang stood proudly before the Battle King's pure rage.
"What is it you wish to do through Green Forest?"
"...."
"Is it to expose the contradictions of those called orthodox sects? Or is it to suck the lifeblood from those innocent people?"
Boom!
The Battle King was a man possessed of unshakable conviction.
Yet Cheon Muyang's single question was a shock powerful enough to shake even that conviction.
"...."
The Battle King suddenly remembered.
'Where have I heard these words before?'
Exactly ten years ago.
On the day he came to be called the Battle King.
The Divine Monk he met at Shaolin had clearly said this to him.
γGo on, do as you wish. Shaolin will bear witness for you. However, remember this. Whether your present anger will still be aimed at the same place ten years from now.γ
The Battle King's anger remained.
Even after ten years, it had not faded.
'But where, exactly, is my anger directed now?'
To that question, he could not readily say that it was no different from ten years ago.
"Demonic rhetoric."
He wanted to dismiss it as such.
"Yet I cannot refute your words at all."
He could not refute them.
For the first time, the Battle King erased the killing intent he had never yielded even before the Divine Monk.
His expression looked somewhat hollow.
"I will seek you out later."
"...."
"Until then, wherever the banner of the Cheon Clan flies, Green Forest will not exist."
At the Battle King's declaration, even the nearby inspector envoys were taken aback.
"Battle King!"
"See that it is done."
"...!"
They as well.
The moment they looked into the Battle King's eyes, they could say nothing.
How could they possibly have such qualification?
"We understand."
"Good."
The Battle King tossed the broken handle of his own axe toward Cheon Muyang.
"Take it."
"...?"
"If there are any punks who get cocky, show them that."
Before he could even respond, the Battle King let out a faint chuckle and strode past Cheon Muyang.
"No matter when or where you are, I will find you. When that time comes, I hope you'll show me an even more interesting sword."
"That is my wish as well."
"I'll look forward to it."
The Battle King also came face to face with the Wolf King.
Thud!
He paused for a moment, but soon resumed walking without saying a word.
As if today simply wasn't the day.
"...."
Thus, after brushing past the Wolf King, the Battle King departed this nameless mountain stronghold.
The inspector envoys followed behind him, disappearing in perfect unison like a single tide.
All that remained were the unconscious bandit chief and his remnants, and the axe handle held in Cheon Muyang's hand.
"That stubborn, vicious bastard retreating so easily⦠Will the sun rise in the west tomorrow?"
"What's so remarkable about it?"
"Hey now, you brat."
The Wolf King still couldn't believe the situation.
Just who did he think the Battle King was?
A man who had never once bent his convictions, even against the entire martial world.
'To make someone who'd rather die than yield retreat so easilyβ¦'
Though he didn't show it, the Wolf King couldn't help but acknowledge Cheon Muyang once more.
'Do you even know what you've just accomplished?'
An achievement even the Divine Monk had failed to attainβyet the one who had done it stood right before him.
No one would acknowledge it, nor even know of it, but it was an extraordinary feat nonetheless.
'You earned the recognition of that Battle King.'
Yet seeing Cheon Muyang's expression, as though it were nothing at all, only made the Wolf King's temper flare.
"You should be counting yourself lucky it ended at this!"
"It ended well, didn't it?"
"Ended?"
The Wolf King snorted.
That axe handle the Battle King left behind.
Its meaning was far from small.
"It's not the endβit's the beginning, and you don't even realize it yet. Heh heh heh."
That was why the Wolf King laughed.
He had heard the rumors before.
"Why are you laughing?"
"You'd do well to keep that axe handle safe."
"...?"
"The Battle King's personally trained Battle Fiend will come looking for you."
Battle Fiend.
Cheon Muyang had heard of it as well.
Heh.
Placing the axe handle the Battle King left behind into his robe, Cheon Muyang spoke.
"Ah, if it's something like that, then they're welcome anytime."
That axe handle might well be a token marking the Battle Fiend's target.
"Now then, hurry up and wrap things up."
"Yeah."
Cheon Muyang slowly walked over to the unconscious bandit chief.
Rummaging through his clothes, he found a gold ingotβthe one offered by the merchant.
"No need to even beat him."
Hadn't they been expelled from Green Forest already?
Their lives were effectively over.
The fate of those who no longer enjoyed Green Forest's protection would be utterly miserable.
So Cheon Muyang chose not to interfere further.
"Count yourself lucky."
"...."
"By the way, where is Namgung Seohee?"
"Leave her be."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You'll find out in Anhui what answer that child arrives at."
"...."
Cheon Muyang understood.
It seemed the Wolf King had given her some advice.
"I see."
"So don't worry about her. She's already a child who carries her own sword."
"I know."
Namgung Seohee would find her answer.
Whatever that answer might be, Cheon Muyang decided he would simply accept it.
'After all, she was never meant to become part of the Cheon Clan.'
From a cold, calculating perspective, her downfall would have benefited the Cheon Clan.
'But one cannot wish misfortune upon someone who walks the same path of the sword.'
Cheon Muyang set aside his worries about her.
Before long, they would meet again anyway.
"Alright, then. Let's be on our way."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Ah, before that, we should stop by a nearby village and send a letter."
No matter how one looked at it, this incident was good news for the Cheon Clan, and it needed to be announced widely.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Cheon Muyang and his group once again set off for Anhui.
***
Some time later.
A rumor began to spread throughout the Zhejiang region.
"Huh? It's been a while since I last came, but I don't see any Green Forest bandits around here?"
"Heh heh heh. My good sir, with news that slow, how do you expect to keep up with this fast-moving world?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you see⦠isn't it said that the Cheon Clan's Young Lord Cheon Muyang personally negotiated with none other than the Green Forest's Battle King, ensuring that Green Forest could no longer operate in this Zhejiang region?"
"W-What? Is that true?"
"I'm telling you it is."
"Oh ho. So that's what happened?"
As people gathered around, the merchant grew animated, lavishing praise upon Cheon Muyang until his tongue nearly wore out.
"Heh heh heh. Why, I even met him in person."
"Ohhh, did you now?"
"If I had to describe him in one wordβhe's a Jade Qilin. There's not a single flaw to be found."
"And where might this Jade Qilin be now?"
"Well now."
The merchant chuckled softly.
"He's probably attending the Yongbong Gathering, wouldn't you say?"