Chapter 98: A Coincidence That Forged Inevitability (4)

“Well, well? What wind blew a bum like you all the way up here? Finally got kicked out of the Union Lord’s seat?”

“How many times have I told you the seat of the Dragon Head Union Lord isn’t something you get kicked out of by someone else?”

“Keek-keek-keek.”

“Quit that creepy laugh. I hate the sound of it.”

“If you hate it, don’t come.”

“You punk—mouth like that when you’re still wet behind the ears.”

“Didn’t you say the age of making friends by tallying years is over?”

“There’s still a limit to everything, kid. You haven’t even reached ‘knowing the Mandate of Heaven’ yet.”

“Then should I bow to a beggar as my elder? Cut the crap.”

“Keep that up and I really will hit you.”

“Hit me. Go on.”

PWEOK!

“Ugh! You really hit me!”

“Shut up and bring out a drink. Damn it, I’m dead on my feet. What kind of good-for-nothing builds a daoist hall this high up a mountain?”

The daoist grumbled but stood.

On his way to the kitchen he muttered a litany fit to raise a listener’s blood pressure: “Why come to a daoist hall and screech for liquor?”, “But how did he know there’s liquor?”, “I ought to live to see that dog die,” “That beggar’s life thread is absurdly long,” and so on.

Hwa Jincheon endured it. Well, bums are supposed to be the lowliest under heaven, aren’t they? Even a king among beggars is, in the end, a beggar.

Without endurance, this relationship wouldn’t last. He couldn’t help but admire his own patience for having borne with it all these years.

A moment later, the daoist brought out a tray of drink.

“Huh? I asked for liquor—what’s that?”

“What do you think, you filthy lout. Jerky.”

“You are a daoist, right?”

“Shut it.”

“Did you know I was coming?”

“How would I make a living telling fortunes if I didn’t even know that?”

“As if anyone even comes to get a fortune told.”

“Ugh, at least take the tray! My back hurts!”

Soon after, the two set the tray in the clearing before the daoist hall and filled each other’s cups.

The daoist, the Heaven-Penetrating True Person, asked:

“So then, what brings you here?”

Hwa Jincheon snorted.

“Why else come to a diviner? I came to find something out.”

“Crazy. Aren’t you the lord of the greatest union under heaven? Don’t you have the world’s information in your fist? What do you need to ‘find out’?”

“Is information the same as divination?”

“Got a generous consultation fee?”

“For a man rolling in wealth, your greed.”

“That and that are different, you brat!”

“If you want something, say it. I’ll have the boys deliver it.”

The mischief slowly faded from the Heaven-Penetrating True Person’s face.

The difference between his impish look and his serious one was stark—almost as if he became another person entirely.

“It’s because of the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces, isn’t it?”

Hwa Jincheon’s eyes lit.

As expected, this one knew. He was the sort who sat on a high summit and watched the world.

“They’re involved too. But what I want to ask is a bit different.”

“Then it must be the young tiger at the vanguard of toppling the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces?”

Gravitas settled over Hwa Jincheon’s face.

“Yeah, I came because of that one. More precisely, I’m puzzled that the world is turning out differently from what you said.”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person.

They say there are three eccentrics in the martial world of this era. Each of the three is master of a field, their level said to reach the heavens, hence the title “Those Who Comprehend Heaven.”

The Three Marvels of the Rivers and Lakes. Or the Three Who Comprehend in the Martial World.

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person was one of those three—and the hardest of them to meet, the greatest eccentric.

“I don’t doubt your divination has reached the realm of heaven. And I also know that your divinations show a rigorously limited ability.”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person sees the flow and principle of the world. At times he foresaw the future; at times he told a person their fate.

But it was an extremely limited gift. Few had ever met him at all, and even when they did, there were days when, depending on that day’s fortune, he couldn’t divine.

Yet there was one thing certain.

Once spoken, a divination did not err. Not once had a word from his mouth proven wrong.

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person shook his head.

“‘Reached the realm of heaven’—that’s a laugh. I merely struggled not to die because the inborn second sight was too strong.”

“Whatever it is.”

“I’m just barely peeking through cracks in heaven. I haven’t penetrated it. If I’d mastered heaven’s principle, I’d have become an immortal long ago.”

“Do immortals even exist?”

“If you believe, they will; to the eyes of those who don’t, they won’t.”

“Enough. Spare me the nonsense riddling.”

“How is that a riddle?”

“Quiet.”

“Good grief, this beggar—”

“Just talk. Why has it changed? No—why was it wrong?”

A shadow crossed the Heaven-Penetrating True Person’s face.

“I don’t know either.”

“You don’t? You, the Heaven-Penetrating True Person of the world?”

“You’re not sneering, are you?”

“Cut the jokes and talk. I’m being serious.”

“Tch. I don’t know either. Like I said, if I knew all that, would I be human? I’d be an immortal.”

“Mm...”

“There is one thing that sticks, though.”

“What is it?”

He tossed back the brimming cup in one go and belched at once.

“Sometime last year... yes, probably autumn. Around then, something changed.”

“Last autumn?”

“Call it the heavenly mechanism, or the heavenly energy—I don’t know which word fits. I saw something on the far side of the sky twist up in a massive way that’s hard to explain.”

“The heavenly mechanism...”

“At the time I didn’t know what it was. Truth is, I still don’t know exactly. I only surmise that change back then was the starting point from which a future different from what I’d foreseen began to be drawn.”

“...Hard to swallow.”

“Not hard—just a bit despairing. Want me to say something?”

“What?”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person spoke bitterly.

“You won’t have any more reason to come here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Since then, I can’t see.”

“...What?”

“I can’t see. The divination won’t work.”

Shock colored Hwa Jincheon’s face.

“What do you mean? The divination won’t work?”

“Yeah. It won’t. No matter how I strain, I can’t see.”

“...No way. Wait! You knew I was coming today! You knew the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces became the public enemy of the martial world and vanished, and you knew the identity of the one leading the charge to topple them!”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person snorted.

“Are you really the head of the Beggars’ Union? Since when did people get this stupid?”

“Huh?”

“The Ming Clan becoming the martial world’s public enemy is common talk across the land—how could you not know? Every time I go down to the market for daily goods, it’s all people talk about. And that one—what’s his name—the first son of the Yeon Clan?”

“Yeon Hojeong.”

“Right, him. Stories about him have been drifting up all along. The young tiger of the East of the River, a man in whom Sun Ce and Lu Xun were reborn as one. They say he’s called the Green Mountain Tiger General these days?”

“Th-that’s right?”

“Just because I live on a high mountain doesn’t mean I never go down to the world. Don’t play dumb.”

Hwa Jincheon pressed, flustered.

“Then how did you know I was coming?”

“That?”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person smiled ruefully and drew a thin booklet from his robe.

“It’s written here.”

“What is that?”

“It’s not that it all went dark at once. Slowly, one by one, things stopped coming into view. Just in case, I wrote down everything I could see.”

“...!”

“And.”

He tossed the booklet away without a care.

The booklet flew far, caught the wind, and dropped over the cliff.

Hwa Jincheon’s jaw fell open.

“W-what are you doing?!”

“Your coming was the last line in that book.”

“Damn...”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person let out a faint chuckle.

“What’s with the big shock?”

“I just... never thought you’d lose your divination.”

“What’s so important about divination that you’re making a fuss?”

“What?”

“I became a daoist because the second sight took hold, and I settled the upper elixir field. But I am, at the end of the day, merely a practitioner of the Way. I happened to have a talent for divination and shared this and that, but even that wasn’t something I could pick and choose at will.”

“...!”

“Does a monk fail to serve the Buddha because he’s lost an arm? Does a daoist fail to cultivate because he’s lost his sight? No need to be so regretful.”

Hwa Jincheon sighed.

“There goes one fine source of news.”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person burst into hearty laughter.

“You’ve just been cutting corners too much. Confession: even when things were plain as day when you came for a reading, there were plenty I didn’t tell you.”

“What? You crazy daoist tricked me?”

“It’s not that it was hard to tell you—but if I had, the heavenly mechanism would have warped.”

“...?!”

“Don’t underestimate your influence. When the Dragon Head Union Lord slips his tongue, the world shakes. To tell a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) man like that his fate and foretell his future—wouldn’t that, in itself, be an act contrary to Heaven?”

Hwa Jincheon couldn’t bring himself to answer.

Taking a sip, the Heaven-Penetrating True Person spoke in a plain tone.

“Where in life is there an answer sheet? Because we don’t know what’s ahead, today is precious. That’s life. So, leaning on divination isn’t good.”

“Damn, listen to the daoist spout letters.”

“Hahahaha!”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person’s laughter was a pleasure to hear.

Even having lost a divination art worthy of the name divine skill, he didn’t mind at all. No, he even looked as if a heavy burden had slipped off his shoulders.

Hwa Jincheon gave a wry smile.

A friend losing his specialty was a loss for the man himself and for him, too. But if the person concerned was that happy, what could he do? He could only be happy with him.

“I’ll come by more often from now on.”

“Oh? Is this comfort?”

“Comfort, my ass. I’m thinking of passing the Union Lord’s seat to my disciple soon. In my twilight years I’ll be lonely—be my drinking buddy.”

“That hellion’s already grown that much? Feels like I saw him not long ago.”

“He’s still got a long, long way to go. But the righteous spirit and true heart he carries are decent.”

“If you’re saying that, he must be quite the piece.”

“If he just trains his martial skill properly, there’ll be nothing more to ask.”

Hwa Jincheon rose.

“I’d better get going. I’m a bit busy.”

The Heaven-Penetrating True Person waved his hand.

“Come anytime.”

“I’ll put up a room next to yours before long, so don’t you dare kick me out.”

“Hahahaha!”

****

“Mm.”

Today had been very busy.

A master of martial skill won’t have his body go awry from a single day’s work, but the drain on mind and heart was substantial. He’d been at this for over ten years besides.

Yeon Wi kneaded the nape of his neck. His neck wasn’t particularly stiff, but doing this made his mind feel easier.

Watching from the side, Lee Baekhyeon gathered up the documents.

“I’ll handle the rest. You should call it a day, Clan Lord.”

“All right.”

“Ah, and what about the chief steward? You’ll need to choose someone soon.”

Yeon Wi glanced sidelong at Lee Baekhyeon.

“If you don’t mind, why don’t you try it.”

“M-me?”

Lee Baekhyeon flapped his hands.

“How could someone of my meager ability become the Yeon Clan’s chief steward? Assisting is plenty for me.”

“You’re doing more than well enough.”

Lee Baekhyeon hiccuped before he knew it.

He never imagined the Clan Lord would bestow such a tremendous compliment. So flustered was he that even his face had gone pale.

“I-I, I absolutely... l-lack the ability...”

Yeon Wi shook his head.

“That’s all for today. You may go.”

“Hah! Yes, sir!”

Lee Baekhyeon scurried out of the lord’s office, moving with remarkable speed as if he’d just seen something he shouldn’t.

Yeon Wi sank back into his chair.

He was tired, but each day was fulfilling. The Jiangsu businesses were steady, the construction at home was going smoothly, and above all the second son’s growth was astonishing.

He hoped tomorrow would be like today. Hard, but rewarding—a day that let him dream of a hopeful tomorrow.

The second one must not have finished his circulation yet. It is his first state of no-self; it’s only natural.

Yeon Wi closed his eyes to use internal circulation to wash away the day’s fatigue.

His son was fighting through a major trial—and an opportunity. He, too, as clan lord and father, had to summon his strength.

How much time had passed like that?

“C-Clan Lord!”

Yeon Wi halted his circulation and spoke with his eyes still closed.

“What is it?”

“T-the First Young Master has arrived!”

In an instant, Yeon Wi’s eyes flashed open.

“Hojeong is here?”

“Yes! B-but...”

“What is it?”

What Lee Baekhyeon said was a showstopper.

“He brought along a pretty young lady!”