Book 21 Chapter 12

Entity of Self-Destruction

-Tradition of calling the blood

After Jade Jade Sutra's briefing, the twins of the Black Cross Society took the group on a tour of the main areas of the Temple of Heaven. Black Sun gave the group a silk map labeled as an envoy's passage area. The elaborate drawings, hand-embroidered with colored threads, and the clear writing were stunning. The map was made without paper and ink, so that it could be crumpled in your arms or dropped in water, and it showed the care and attention to detail.

The areas where envoys could go were divided into "free passage areas," bordered by blue thread, and "escorted areas," bordered by red thread. Anything bordered by ash-colored thread was off-limits. Including the escorted areas, the delegation was allowed to enter less than half of the castle.

Each member of the delegation was soon presented with a silver sash embroidered with the word "Sa" by Black Moon. The sashes served as both a pass and an identification card, and I was a little creeped out by the fact that the engravings looked like talismans.

"For the duration of your stay in the Temple of Heaven, I ask that everyone wear this sash in a visible place. Hoo hoo hoo, I'm embarrassed to say, but I made it especially for you, with the 'it' of Kangning's wishes!"

As people poked and prodded at the suspiciously thoughtful product, wondering what "it" was, someone had the courage to ask.

"Stir… what is 'it', and what happens if I lose my sash or don't wear it?"

"…Ego, let's get the field trip started, shall we? First, let's all put on our sashes, i.e. poetry!"

Her voice was as fresh as early summer raspberries, her smile as cheerful as sunlight through leaves.

The delegation was lulled into a trance by the sight of Black Moon's unmoving, wide-eyed form, waiting to be 'put on'. When they awoke a few moments later, each had a sash somewhere on their body. They had learned that too much kindness can sometimes be worse than poison.

The group split up for convenience and began their tour along the Black Sun and Black Moon, respectively. After a while, as they visited key areas along either the Black Sun or the Black Moon, they were all tongue-in-cheek. It was no longer something to be dismissed as a small island in a lake at best.

If one person's bed is about one square meter, more than 1.5 billion people can sleep comfortably in Dongzheng Lake. Its enormous area spreads out in all directions. It's more like an ocean than a lake. Therefore, even the scattered islands in the lake were nothing to sneeze at.

Jajukdo, in particular, is about a million square kilometers in size and maximizes its space through towers, duplexes, and underground areas. Add in the hidden spaces and the four islands to the east, west, north, and south, and you've got the makings of a city or two. It took the delegation nearly two hours to tour just the main areas. It was just before lunchtime that the delegation finally made it to the dining hall.

When she arrived at the restaurant, she was about to ask Yeonbi to join her for dinner when she was grabbed by one arm by a clingy Lee Jin-sul. Lee Jin-sul couldn't take it anymore and yanked her arm away.

"Sister, come eat with us!"

And then, just as Na Yerin's face was about to harden, she added, in the tiniest of voices.

"Well, the kite Sojae, too."

The words were reluctant. She didn't like Yunbi's presence. He felt like his favorite sister had been taken away from him. Of course, Lee Jin-sul had a lover, but that was that and this was this. Just because you wear a headband on your head doesn't mean you can't wear a sash around your waist.

"Won't Yeonbi be an inconvenience?"

Na Yerin first asked Yeonbi for an explanation. She hadn't greeted Lee Jin-sul, Hyo-ryong, or anyone else properly yet.

"I don't care, Lean."

Yeonbi replied.

Lee Jin-sul secretly pouted as she watched Na Yerin plead with Yeon-bi.

There were three people in the room where Lee Jin-sul took her: Hyo-ryong, Jang Hong, and Yoon Jun-ho. Na Yerin had talked to them a few times, thanks to Bi Ryuyeon and Lee Jin-sul. All that was left was fuel.

Jinseol Lee introduced the group to Yeonbi. She had already talked about Yeonbi on the way to Na Yerin's introduction.

"It's called Yeonbi."

Bowing slightly, Yunbi greeted me first. His voice was calm and refreshing.

"Yoo, I'm Junho Yoon."

"I am Jang Hong."

"My name is Hyo-Ryong."

Yun Jun's cheeks were red, Jang Hong's eyes were filled with suspicion, and Hyo Long's mouth was filled with a smile.

As soon as the greetings were over, Jang Hong began to gather information.

"That's an unusual umbrella, isn't it? The texture is very unusual……."

He was intrigued by the black umbrella with the plum blossom pattern that Yunbi always carries. Although he is now indoors and folding his umbrella, he almost always wears it outdoors, even on sunny days, so the black umbrella has already become a symbol of Yunbi.

The mere mention of the word "wu" would cause some of the men to get excited and discuss the Yeonbi, especially when she walked next to Bingbai Peak Na Yerin, who was recognized as the most beautiful woman in the Hundred Islands, with her umbrella, the contrast of black and white doubling and tripling her beauty. At such times, the gazes of the men around them would be fixed on them like a magnet.

"Oh, it's a specialty. It's called Hyuncheon Eunlin, but I usually call it Eunlin for short."

Hyeoncheon-eulin means "silver flame in the black and dusky sky. The silver plum blossoms scattered oxidizingly against the gray background were truly a flame of silver.

"That's a nice name, but this umbrella isn't made of paper, and certainly not cloth. It's made of something else… like leather or……."

Jang Hong's snow slide had some pretty sharp edges.

"Well, guess what? I'd love to teach you, but……."

Yeonbi is the last word.

"Want to?"

"Under the circumstances, it's a non-starter."

Yeonbi said, holding up an index finger.

"Anyway, the material makes it very sturdy, and it doesn't leak, so it comes in handy when it rains."

From Yan's tone, Jang Hong deduced a few things. First of all, it was definitely a weapon. If it was useful in the rain, didn't that mean it had other uses in the first place? That would explain why he always carried an umbrella on his person. But…

'There was a sect that used umbrellas like that as weapons…….'

But I don't remember any other sect using such a special material, such a powerful umbrella, as a weapon. Of course, there weren't many craftsmen who could make something like that, so I figured I could find out the history of the item by following up with the exceptional masters. Whether or not they would talk was unknown.

"You're definitely hiding something, young lady!

Jang Hong decided to end his thoughts there. For now, Jang Hong avoided the most frightening assumptions in his subconscious mind.

The meal consisted of crispy, spicy, and sweet chicken dangjiajie, freshly rolled and flavored 魚丸, and lightly shaved noodles. Due to prior arrangements and cost negotiations between the Tianmu Museum and the Temple of Heaven, we had to take what we could get, but the food was excellent. The flavors were well-balanced, despite the reputation of Hunan's cuisine for being rich, spicy, and distinctive, though it was a bit disconcerting to see the region, business names, and "please come back" written all over the bowls and cutlery.

After the meal, it was time to taste Gunsan Silver Needle, a specialty from Gunsan, a small island in Dongjeong Lake. The tea leaves, slender as silver needles, exuded a refreshing fragrance and bathed in a sweet yellowish light. The group enjoyed the tea and discussed the homework that Ok Yoo-kyung had left behind.

"What did he mean when he said to pick a captain?"

The first person to speak up was Lee Jin-sul. There was something about her tone that suggested it was more than a simple election for class president. After all, this is the Macheon Pavilion, one of the two great axes of the Black Sea. It would be no less strange if there was a different meaning behind it.

"That guy over there, Hyo-ryong, seems to know something."

Setting down his teacup, Yunfei smirked.

"Why would you think that?"

Yanbi tilted her head slightly, as if his half-question was odd.

"Hmm, that's what my face looked like… but maybe it wasn't?"

"Oh, no, you're right."

Hyo-ryong replied, puzzled by the Yeonbi.

'I was just introduced to it a little while ago…….'

I felt a sense of familiarity and comfort, as if I had known him for years.

Flash!

A lightning bolt of caution flashed through Yi Yun's eyes. Hyorong took a sip of his tea and began to explain.

"As you may have heard, the dormitories in the Great Hall are all independent units. There's an average of a hundred people per dormitory, with a margin of error of ten depending on the situation, and there's a strict hierarchy up to the top fifty in each."

"What happens outside of the sequence, outside of the fifty?"

"They're… they're what you'd call a feast."

"Okay, so it's fifty-two hundred steps, but what's the basis of the sequence?"

"By grades, of course, but also by skill. Hierarchies are adjusted at tri-monthly examinations and competitions. In the meantime, however, it is our tradition to immediately reflect the results of private battles."

It's a pretty nasty, nasty tradition.

"It's a tradition that calls for blood."

"Yan Sojae is right. It's a Black Dao belief that swords grow stronger in blood, so that's the best way to go… But I wonder if that gentleman has some business over here?"

He paused and pointed behind Yan's left shoulder. Yan turned his head to look at the man standing behind him. He blushed and fidgeted as their eyes met.

"Oh, I recognize you from before."

As if you just noticed.

"Oh, yeah… yeah, that's right."

The man, who had been standing there, unsure of what to say or how to begin, immediately stood up and answered.

"So your name is Polite……."

I can't remember, Yeonbi was the last thing on my mind.

"Oh, yeah!" and it's called polite speech."

Gong Zhenghui tensed as he stood erect again. His face and muscles stiffened, as if he were used to dealing with women.

"Ah, I see you wanted to hear what Confucius had to say about politeness."

The polite man immediately ducked his head, unable to handle Yunfei's bright smile.

"No… I'm……."

As Gongfu was eagerly summoning up his courage, Yeonbi spoke up.

"Well, there's a seat open next to Confucius over there. Please take a seat. He won't mind if you stay for another minute or so. Right?"

Yun Che's eyes lit up as he looked at Hyo Ryong.

"Nothing, of course."

Hyorong blushed in involuntary embarrassment as he met Yan Bi's jewel-like eyes. Lee Jin-sul had finally exploded.

"Why the hell are you blushing!

A furious blow struck Hyo-Ryong in the side.

"Gulp……!"

He barely managed to swallow back a scream, but the shock that shook his lungs and heart made Hyo-Ryong weep inside.

'I fed them sashimi, spin, and…….'

A blow too good to be true shook him to his core. His skills were getting sharper and sharper, and now he felt like his life was in danger. Would he survive the next blow? Sadly, there were no guarantees.

"Crrrrr!

Inwardly, Lee Jin-sul growled like a ferocious dog and glared at Yeon-vi. Whether he realized it or not, Yun Bi continued to offer her a seat.

"Have a seat, then."

As Hyo-ryong clenched his teeth and sweated profusely at his side, the polite bow was at a crossroads.

"No, that's because I'm……."

As the concentrate in the container still chugged down his throat, he asked in disbelief.

"Is there a problem? Oh, did I make a bad pitch?"

Gong Zhenghui quickly threw up his hands and rebuked his indecision.

"Pfft! You're such a jerk, making the kite Sojae think he made a mistake. You're pathetic!

At this point, I didn't have much of a choice.

"Oh, no, no problem, I'll sit down, I'll sit down, that's what I was hoping for!"

Then I sat down, coldly. It was the seat furthest away from Yunbi.

"You're demoted!

It was a thought that flashed through everyone's minds at the same time.

"That's too far away! The goal should have been closer!

"Didn't they even notice I was shaking?

But he didn't seem to be that dull. In the corner of the room, the eyes of Gong Zhenghui held a wistful despair, a mournful longing.

"Heck, I've accepted my fate! I'm accepting everything!"

'Poor thing, tsk tsk. You'll have to wait for another chance, frustrated gong.'

However, his future was not so bright……. As a result of the events of that day, he would later earn the title of Gongzhi Zetian, Frustrated Gongzhi, or Gongzhi Frustration among the students of the Heavenly Martial Academy.

"So, shall we continue?"

"Oh, sure."

Hyo-ryong looked at Gong Zhenghui with sympathy for a moment, then quickly resumed his story at Yeonbi's urging.

"Anyway, at the top of the hierarchy is the captain, or captain-in-chief, who makes all the administrative, economic, and punitive decisions within the dormitory. For reference, there is also a deputy captain and a staff officer, an attendant and an intelligence officer who assist the captain."

"That's a total of five. Is Owi up to the top of the hierarchy?"

At Na Yerin's words, Hyorong shook his head.

"Under a captain is a troop commander, under a troop commander is a staff officer, but staff and intelligence officers are determined by other factors. An 'out-of-rank' can be a staff officer if they have the brains to do so, but that rarely happens. In any case, the staff officer is always accompanied by an attendant, who is the third in rank, for protection, as they can be the least martial of the chiefs."

"Hmmm……!"

The crowd was silent as the arrangements were made in a manner unimaginable at the Tianmu Hall.

"And who is the intelligence officer?"

Qin Lie, who had just appeared behind Yun Jun, asked. Even Namgung and Mo Yonghui stood beside her, listening intently. Hyo-ryong scratched her head and answered.

"A master of stealth, intelligence gathering, and espionage, with a network of connections as tight as a spider's web. They're chosen by the General Staff and the Captain from among the fifty men in the ranks, and we don't reveal who they are to anyone outside of the leadership unless we have to; any bad moves within the ranks will be quashed before they even begin."

Hyorong raised his teacup and cleared his throat before continuing.

"So there are four de facto leaders: the captain, the deputy captain, the chief of staff, and the attendant, and it's not often that they change. To that, we add the son-in-law and the five sons-in-law who could be candidates for the position in the future, and that's the first group. Below that, there are five-in-one groups of no more than twenty, so the sixth through tenth in rank are the second group, and the sixth in rank is the second group's leader, and so on."

"This is it, One, you've got a full army."

Junho Yoon spoke up, sounding bored.

"It's our policy to have a united front whenever and wherever we fight, so when the leader moves, the men move, and the leader is the only one who moves, so there's no confusion."

Hyo-ryong said in a casual tone. Yunbi asked.

"But why didn't the instructor tell me all those important things?"

"It's our policy to let people figure out what they need to know on their own."

"Information gathering ability, is that what it is?"

Mo Yonghui, who was standing behind him, said in a somber voice.

"Something like that. By the way……."

Hyorong said, glancing around.

Before long, a large group of people had gathered around Jang Hong, as well as Nan Gongsheng, Qinling, and Mo Yonghui, casting shadows over them. Among them were Long Tianming and Maha Ling.

'If that's true, I'm terrified…….'

Hearing Hyorong's words, the Southern Palace Master's hands broke out in a cold sweat. This place was completely different from the Heavenly Martial Academy. It was a different world, and the people here were like an army. Even when they were futilely bickering with each other in the Celestial Academy, they had been steadily preparing for war.

A quick glance around reveals that Long Tianming and the Maharishi are not looking too good either. They were probably thinking about something similar to themselves.

Seriousness is contagious. Before long, a heavy silence filled the room. No one spoke.

"Huh? Huh?"

Hyorong glanced around, then looked at his companions, puzzled by the sudden change in the air.

"Is this because of me?"

Na Yerin and her colleagues, including Yunbi, nodded in unison.

"Captain elections… I'm pretty sure I know how this is going to go."

Nan Gongsheng sighed and said. "Based on what we've seen so far, it's likely that Yong Tianming will be chosen as the commander and Maha Ling as the troop leader. That was, of course, assuming that Maha Ling was willing to go along with it.

It was possible to have Maharishi as the captain and Yong Tianming as the deputy captain. Maha Ling's skills were a bit lacking compared to Yong Tianming's, but rumor had it that he had spent the last year in bone-crushing training with the city, so there was a chance that this time he might not resign so easily.

"It's obvious… or is it?"

Yeonbi smiled.

"So you're saying there are other possibilities, although I think there are very few variables."

A puzzled Namgungsang asked.

"That's something we'll have to wait and see."