Episode 100: People on the Edge

“If you head north for a few days from here, you’ll reach Mount Wudang. I was once a Taoist of the Wudang Sect, dreaming of ascending to immortality through sword training. Tanglang and Shanzhe were the same.”

I knew from the moment we first met. Of course, it was Namgung Myung who realized it, not Tang Mujin.

“When we turned twenty, the three of us ventured into the martial world, wandering the Central Plains. It was the adventure of our dreams. I still vividly remember it. We roamed around Shaanxi, then followed the Yellow River to Mount Tai, just as our seniors advised.”

A gentle smile played on Pyo Chung’s lips. Like anyone reminiscing about joyful times, his unfocused eyes seemed to gaze into the void.

“It was like a dream. We even tried our hand at chivalrous deeds, subduing bandits and handing them over to the authorities. I still remember being awestruck watching a duel between masters. Have you ever seen Mount Tai? It’s a breathtaking sight, one you might never see again in your lifetime.”

As his story reached its peak, Pyo Chung’s pace slowed, and his voice grew somber.

“After seeing Mount Tai, we headed south, moving west along the Yangtze River. Just as we were about to return to Mount Wudang, we heard an intriguing story in Yichang. A group of rebels was causing chaos, and righteous heroes were called to Taiyi Sword Sect to set things right. Our hearts were full of youthful zeal, so we didn’t hesitate to go.”

“And that place was Mount Nogun?”

”…Yes. We followed their lead and found ourselves among people with ragged clothes and desperate expressions. Perhaps it was their faces that made me join in without a second thought, swinging my sword among them. It wasn’t a difficult fight. In fact, it was suspiciously easy.”

”…”

To someone unaware of the context, it might have sounded like an entertaining tale of heroism.

But it was a story of regret, sorrow, and guilt.

“I was foolish. I thought it was a heroic act. I imagined returning to Wudang with tales of my exploits, boasting about how many rebels I had slain. I thought everyone would be amazed. I was that shallow.”

“Among those you killed, was there the son of Madam Zhu?”

“Yes.”

The story paused for a moment.

It was a tale as damp as a cave on a rainy day, as musty and stale as the smell of moss.

No matter how much you try to forget, the memory seeps back in.

Tang Mujin fiddled with the memorial tablet in his hand. Seo Song-deok. Aged twenty-nine. Killed by a warrior’s sword.

“I later confronted the head of Taiyi Sword Sect, asking if those we killed were truly rebels. He replied that just as dogs give birth to puppies and pigs to piglets, the children of rebels are naturally rebels. I wanted to argue, but having been the most fervent in wielding my sword, I couldn’t say a word. Then the head of Taiyi Sword Sect severed the bridge.”

“The bridge?”

“Yes. The cloud bridge.”

Tang Mujin had seen countless plank paths on Mount Nogun but never a bridge. Seeing his puzzled expression, Pyo Chung explained.

“The cliff where you were stranded was supposed to have a cloud bridge connecting it to the opposite cliff. It was nearly completed when the head of Taiyi Sword Sect destroyed it.”

The mention of “you” felt odd, prompting Tang Mujin to glance to his side.

Namgung Myung, who had been asleep in the hut, was now listening beside him. It seemed so natural that Tang Mujin was startled.

“When did you get here?”

“I’ve been listening from the start.”

He must have approached quietly on purpose. Namgung Myung’s stealth skills were beyond ordinary, and if he decided to hide, even Tang Mujin wouldn’t notice.

Pyo Chung chuckled at the scene and retrieved a long box from the cave’s depths.

Inside the worn box lay an equally aged silk scroll.

Pyo Chung unrolled the scroll, revealing a single sentence.

“Let the rebels remain on Mount Nogun until they wash away their sins with merit.”

“What is this?”

“It’s an imperial decree from long ago.”

The words were heavy. Though the silk was old, the ink remained dark and unfaded.

The emperor’s decree, written on silk now frayed and crumbling, bound the villagers to Mount Nogun.

That single sentence had created the thousands of memorial tablets in this cave.

“What does ‘merit’ mean here?”

“It’s undefined. Nothing was set, and no one defined it, so people had to achieve a merit that everyone would nod in agreement to. Only then could they leave Mount Nogun. The method they chose was to build paths on this treacherous mountain. They laid plank paths and built bridges to connect the cliffs.”

Tang Mujin recalled an old story. The tale of Yu Gong, the foolish old man who moved mountains and made paths, impressing the Jade Emperor. The people of Mount Nogun likely hoped to move the emperor’s heart by creating paths.

Building paths was a monumental task, a great merit.

The people trapped on Mount Nogun dedicated their lives to creating paths on the cliffs, hoping their descendants could escape. They lived on the edge, struggling to break free.

Namgung Myung asked, “But if the plank paths are made, isn’t the work almost done? The cloud bridge can be rebuilt.”

“They rebuilt it, but it was destroyed again.”

“What?”

“My fellow disciples and I sought forgiveness from the villagers and stayed to help them. Just as the bridge was nearing completion, the head of Taiyi Sword Sect returned with his men. By then, we had become first-rate warriors, and we thought we could handle him.”

Tang Mujin could guess what happened next.

Time had allowed the head of Taiyi Sword Sect to break through to the pinnacle.

“But while we rose to first-rate, he broke through the pinnacle. We were weak, overwhelmed, and the bridge was destroyed again.”

Pyo Chung sighed deeply, shaking his head.

“After the bridge was destroyed twice, everyone realized. Once trapped on Mount Nogun, they would live like livestock. To the county magistrate, the people of Laksung Village, and the head of Taiyi Sword Sect, the people of Mount Nogun are livestock, passed down through generations.”

Tang Mujin interrupted Pyo Chung’s endless negativity.

“Can’t you lead the people to escape? Mount Nogun is treacherous, but there must be a way out.”

“There are watchers. People ensuring the bridge isn’t completed and that no one escapes.”

“Oh.”

It was clear who the watchers were. When they first encountered the Nogun Three Swords, they had been fighting the Green Forest bandits.

If they weren’t there to watch, there would be no reason for the Green Forest bandits to be on Mount Nogun. It’s a mountain with no passing merchants or villages to plunder.

Tang Mujin considered suggesting they kill the bandits and escape but stopped.

A watcher can fulfill their role whether they return alive or not. If a watcher doesn’t return, it signals that something has happened. Another watcher will simply take their place.

Perhaps because he was revisiting the situation from the beginning, Pyo Chung felt a suffocating sensation.

Mount Nogun is a vast prison. The people of Laksung Village, the county magistrate, and the head of Taiyi Sword Sect are all complicit in creating this prison.

Tang Mujin and Namgung Myung racked their brains for a solution. They were too young to resign themselves like Pyo Chung and unfamiliar with despair.

Namgung Myung asked, “Can’t we rebuild the bridge? Surely many want to leave Mount Nogun.”

Pyo Chung shook his head.

“People will die building it, and it will be destroyed before completion. Besides, people are content with things as they are.”

”…Content?”

“Thanks to you, life in Nogun Village has become bearable. I can’t remember the last time a child cried from hunger.”

It wasn’t just lip service. Pyo Chung seemed genuinely satisfied.

Having spent more than half his life on Mount Nogun, witnessing the people’s suffering, he likely saw the current situation as an improvement.

But Tang Mujin immediately countered.

“It won’t remain bearable for long.”

“What do you mean?”

“Consider the perspective of those surrounding Mount Nogun. You need to be hungry and struggling to risk the dangerous cliffs to gather herbs for trade. If you continue to survive by picking fruits and hunting, their source of income dries up.”

Pyo Chung’s face hardened. Tang Mujin’s argument was convincing. It was simply a perspective he hadn’t considered before.

Tang Mujin continued his explanation.

“I don’t know what methods they’ll use, but they’ll find a way to create problems for you, forcing you back into a life of hunger. It could become even more miserable than before.”

“But there’s no way around it. We have two major problems. If we build the bridge, the leader of Taeui Sword Sect will come with his men and destroy it. And even if we manage to finish the bridge, the local magistrate won’t report it to the imperial court.”

Pyo Chung, as if waiting for the opportunity, laid out the reasons why building the bridge was impossible.

Tang Mujin didn’t like his defeatist attitude, so he interrupted with a firm tone.

“We can handle the leader of Taeui Sword Sect. Even if he’s a top-tier martial artist, we have five first-rate fighters. We can take him on.”

”…Five?”

Pyo Chung asked, puzzled.

Among the people of Nogunsan, only the three Nogun Swordsmen had martial arts training. Recently, only Tang Mujin and Namgung Myung had joined the village.

This meant that Tang Mujin and Namgung Myung were first-rate martial artists.

“I thought you might have some skills, but to be first-rate at your age?”

Tang Mujin and Namgung Myung nodded calmly, without boasting or pride.

In their matter-of-fact demeanor, Pyo Chung saw a glimmer of hope.

“Then maybe we have a chance. But there’s still the second problem. What about the magistrate? If he doesn’t report it to the higher-ups, nothing changes.”

Namgung Myung offered a solution.

“We can approach the magistrates of other regions, like Yichang or Jangri County. We don’t need them to support the villagers. We just need them to confirm that a bridge was built in Nogunsan. Since there’s no vested interest involved, at least one of them might help.”

”…It’s a bit vague.”

Pyo Chung’s voice lacked confidence, reflecting the plan’s vagueness.

But Tang Mujin knew that sometimes you had to take a leap of faith without overthinking.

“There’s no need to be paralyzed by fear. We have two choices: sit back and wait for our lives to become miserable again, or take a gamble when the opportunity arises. It’s not like there’s no chance at all.”

They didn’t know what kind of person the emperor was, and they might never find out.

But the emperor was human, and if the plight of the people trapped in Nogunsan reached his ears, he might react.

The people of Nogunsan were merely descendants of those who lived near the instigators of a rebellion, a rebellion that wasn’t even against the current royal family.

If they could open a path through Nogunsan and achieve a great deed, they might be freed.

“Think simply. Rebuild the bridge, fend off the Taeui Sword Sect, and report to the imperial court through other local magistrates. That’s all there is to it. We have nothing to lose, so even if we fail, we won’t lose much.”

Pyo Chung didn’t respond, lowering his head. He wasn’t the representative of Nogun Village, and even if he were, it wasn’t a decision he could make alone.

”…I’ll listen to what the people have to say.”

“If they decide to stay as they are, we’ll leave the village soon. We might return to treat the sick, but we won’t make a similar offer again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The three of them stepped out of the cave. The rain had stopped.

Pyo Chung went around asking the villagers for their opinions.

The people feared change, but when they heard that their current prosperity wouldn’t last, their attitudes quickly shifted.

Having tasted a brief period of abundance, they dreaded returning to a life of hopelessness and hunger even more.

If they waited passively, they might survive in poverty.

But was mere survival better than death?

The people didn’t think so.

Just as embers can ignite even in deadwood, the people of Nogun Village yearned for a happy life.

Two days later, Pyo Chung approached Tang Mujin and Namgung Myung, bowing deeply.

“For the sake of Nogun Village, please lend us your hand.”