Chapter 1496
How could I dare not to follow? (1)
Descending to the lower floor, the disciples of Hwasan looked up nervously at the upper floor.
“What do you think they’re talking about?”
“No idea…”
“It’s like there’s a barrier, but if you listen closely, you might… Ow!”
Yoon Jong yanked Jo Geol’s ear as he strained to eavesdrop.
“We were sent down here so we wouldn’t listen, you idiot!”
“Ow, my ear! But, honestly, you’re curious too, aren’t you, Sahyeong?”
“Just because you want to do something doesn’t mean you should. That’s what separates us from animals.”
“Ugh.”
Unable to deny it, Jo Geol groaned and reluctantly backed off. Yoon Jong sighed and shook his head.
‘Curious, huh…’
To be honest, he was curious too. What kind of conversation was taking place between the former Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect, who had experienced the Great Demonic War, and Chung Myung?
“Aren’t you curious, Sasuk?”
“Not at all.”
“Really?”
Jo Geol asked again, surprised by the unexpected answer. Baek Cheon was about to respond when someone else spoke up.
“…Hwasan Geomhyeop…”
“Hm?”
Luju, who had been standing guard to prevent anyone from going up, suddenly opened his mouth.
“What kind of person is Hwasan Geomhyeop?”
“What do you mean, what kind of person?”
A brief look of confusion crossed everyone’s faces. Not only was the timing of the question abrupt, but it also wasn’t the sort of question the Sect Leader of the Beggars Sect would typically ask.
Could it be that Sect Leader knew more about Chung Myung than the disciples of Hwasan?
“What kind of person, you ask, well….”
“A madman.”
“A lunatic.”
“He’s definitely not sane. That’s for sure.”
“He’s possessed. Amitabha.”
“…Everyone, I think you’re being a bit too harsh. He’s not that strange, is he?”
Everyone turned to look at Lee Songbaek with sullen eyes as he was trying to defend Chung Myung.
“Yeah, ignorance is bliss.”
“It’s a comedy when seen from afar.”
“…It seems to me that the people of Hwasan tend to excessively belittle Hwasan Geomhyeop. He’s not like that.”
“Sure, sure.”
“I’ll be sure to see how long you hold onto that opinion, Sohyeop.”
Baek Cheon laughed and looked back at Luju.
“He’s hard to describe.”
“…I see.”
Luju nodded briefly. Although the answers weren’t particularly helpful, it seemed he had felt something from them.
“But why did you ask that all of a sudden?”
“I was just curious.”
Luju’s gaze lifted upwards.
“…Because he’s someone I’ve been hearing about for a long time.”
Baek Cheon’s eyes narrowed slightly. At that moment, Jo Geol slowly approached and asked Baek Cheon again.
“But, Sasuk, aren’t you really curious?”
“…I said I’m not.”
“Oh, come on, what kind of bluff is that? Lately, Sasuk, you’ve been acting way too serious…”
Bang!
With a short and powerful strike from Baek Cheon, Jo Geol collapsed flat on the floor.
“Yeah. He has been getting too full of himself lately.”
“We welcome a fair outcome.”
The remaining Five Swords clapped at the scene.
Baek Cheon, glancing at the fallen Jo Geol, muttered with a smirk.
“There’s nothing to be curious about.”
Then he turned his gaze towards the hole in the ceiling.
“Because what he talks about is always ‘what’s next’.”
His eyes were filled with nothing but trust.
“…Geomjon.”
From Hyeon Pung Shin Gae’s lips came a split, barely audible voice. The emotions within were indescribable.
Chung Myung simply looked at Hyeon Pung Shin Gae calmly.
“As I said earlier…”
Chung Myung paused for a moment, then continued with a sigh.
“I won’t say what you’ve done so far is wrong.”
There was a hint of weariness on his face as he slowly shook his head.
“Anyone who went through that war would inevitably come to their own conclusions. Conclusions that others might never understand.”
Chung Myung was no different. He had come to his own conclusions and was still doing so. But he didn’t expect others to understand. Those who hadn’t experienced it could never know.
Chung Myung looked at Hyeon Pung Shin Gae and said resolutely.
“However, I’m too ill-tempered to quietly bow down my head and wait like you.”
“…”
“Even if it’s meaningless, I’ll struggle, claw, and bite.”
Hyeon Pung Shin Gae’s eyes wavered.
“So tell me. How do I restore the Beggars Sect to its former state? How do I gain their strength?”
Hyeon Pung Shin Gae silently looked at Chung Myung for a long time. And Chung Myung patiently waited.
After a long silence, Hyeon Pung Shin Gae finally spoke again.
“Do you really.….. intend to fight him again?”
“Yes.”
“You know, don’t you? The current Gangho is…”
“Weaker than in the past.”
“…”
“And he will come back stronger. If he truly returns, our chances of winning will be less than a fraction.”
“Knowing all that, how can you…?”
“I told you.”
Chung Myung smiled faintly.
“It’s not because I can win that I fight. It’s because I have no choice but to fight.”
“…”
“I’m a person who can only fight. There’s only one answer someone like me can offer.”
Chung Myung tapped his sword and murmured quietly.
“I just fight. No matter who the opponent is.”
Hyeon Pung Shin Gae bit his lip tightly. Even in his turmoil, his eyes diligently searched Chung Myung’s face for any sign of insincerity. He found none.
With a sorrowful voice, Hyeon Pung Shin Gae spoke.
“If only… if only Geomjon hadn’t perished back then…”
“…”
“No, if only things had moved just a bit faster…”
The old man buried his face in his wrinkled hands.
Chung Myung closed his eyes as well.
Just as he had despaired, Hyeon Pung Shin Gae must have also suffered as if in hell. It must have felt like being abandoned alone in a world where no one reached out a hand.
“Geomjon. Gangho of that time was harsh, but it was also a place overflowing with many talents.”
“…It was.”
The Three Great Sword Masters of the world. It was a superficial title, but it also meant that at least on the surface, there were two others who could be compared to Chung Myung.
And there were Tang Bo, Chung Mun, and Chung Jin.
If they had been born in a different era, they would have all held the world in their hands. These were the ones who united their strength to stop Demonic Cult.
“But the current Gangho cannot compare to that time. Even so.….. you still intend to fight?”
“Yes.”
Hyeon Pung Shin Gae’s face twisted slightly.
“I don’t doubt you, Geomjon. Anyone who remembers what you did in that war would never dare to doubt you. But… no matter how strong you are, alone…”
“I do not.”
Chung Myung cut off Hyeon Pung Shin Gae’s words with a firm voice.
“I do not deny the greatness of those from the past. It was because of them that I could behead the Heavenly Demon.”
“…”
“They were incredible, incomparable to someone like me. I was merely the sword they wielded.”
His voice was calm, making his words even more sincere.
Chung Myung turned his head.
At the end of his gaze were the stairs leading down. A faint lamplight seeped through.
Between that light and the darkness where they stood, Chung Myung had set up a sound barrier to prevent any noise from escaping.
But just because the words couldn’t be heard, it didn’t mean everything was cut off.
Even if they couldn’t hear the voices, they were undoubtedly there. And Chung Myung knew that they were watching him with familiar eyes.
“The more I look back, the more I realize how great they were. But they weren’t great from the beginning.”
“…”
“They were all flawed and lacking in some way. They just… had to become great.”
Chung Myung’s gaze returned to Hyeon Pung Shin Gae.
“You said it couldn’t be done alone?”
“…Geomjon.”
“No. I am not alone. Quite the opposite. And the reason I failed before was because I tried to do everything by myself.”
As Chung Myung’s calm words continued, Hyeon Pung Shin Gae’s shoulders began to tremble again.
“Because I thought it was something only I could do. Because I believed no one could understand me. I thought I had to bear that burden all by myself.”
Throughout his speech, Chung Myung’s expression remained steady, but his words encapsulated both his life and the life Hyeon Pung Shin Gae had lived.
“The reason I’m here now is to avoid making the same mistake again.”
Chung Myung closed his eyes.
It was a message for Hyeon Pung Shin Gae, but also for his past self. Words he couldn’t say before because there was no one to listen.
“Yes, you’re right, I can’t do it alone.”
“…Geomjon.”
“So help me, Hyeon Pung Gae.”
When Chung Myung opened his eyes again, they were endlessly cold and resolute.
“Don’t look at the world with eyes that seem like everything is already over. You are still alive. There’s still a chance to restore what collapsed because you couldn’t do it back then. I will make sure of it.”
Transparent tears streamed down from Hyeon Pung Shin Gae’s eyes.
His vision blurred, and he saw overlapping images: the young boy standing before him and Maehwa Geomjon he had admired so much in the past.
Hyeon Pung Shin Gae realized that the person in front of him was Geomjon, yet not Geomjon.
The figure before him was another person, seemingly weaker and more lacking than Geomjon of the past, yet somehow undeniably stronger.
“You asked for my help…?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not forgiving me… You’re not helping me… Instead, you’re asking for help from an old man just waiting to die?”
Chung Myung chuckled.
“Yes.”
“…You are harsh, Geomjon.”
At Chung Myung’s laughter, Hyeon Pung Shin Gae also shook with quiet chuckles.
The sound, a mix of coughing and laughter, scratched the dry throat of Hyeon Pung Shin Gae, echoing for a long time.
“Geomjon… I am a living corpse. The future of the Beggars Sect… the path for the world… I can no longer see it with my clouded eyes. Any words would be hollow to someone who has lost the strength to discern right from wrong.”
It was a clear rejection. Yet Chung Myung looked at Hyeon Pung Shin Gae without the slightest agitation.
Eventually, Hyeon Pung Shin Gae wiped his face roughly and spoke.
“But… if Geomjon asks me to simply, just help you…”
Where the tears had been cleared, new tears flowed again. Even in his blurred vision, a vivid scene emerged.
A mountain rising like a blood-soaked sword. Turning away from that mountain cowardly. Even knowing everything was wrong, he lacked the courage at that moment. A memory that forever stabbed his heart like a sharp dagger, never allowing it to heal.
If only he hadn’t turned away then, if he had mustered the courage to climb Hundred Thousand Mountains, he might not have lived such a regret-filled, miserable life.
The thick fog of regret intertwined with the present moment.
“How…”
Tears poured from his withered body, an unbelievable flood of emotion from someone so dry and brittle. Even after living so long, he couldn’t explain these tears and these feelings.
“How could I dare not to follow? How could I not?”
When Hyeon Pung Shin Gae turned away that day, he left behind not only Chung Myung and the suicide squad but also the very essence that made him Hyeon Pung Shin Gae.
Like sap returning to a dried tree, red blood began to flow through his body once more. This blood was his belief, his life, and everything he was.
“If you wish it, I will join you even if my spirit is already faded and pitiful.”
His heart, which had not beaten for a hundred years, began to beat again.
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