Chapter 1713
That will be enough. (8)
“This way!”
Meanwhile, the severely injured Wudang swordsmen were being moved into the medical hall. The sounds of patients being placed on empty beds and the frantic search for medical supplies filled the air with noise.
“Start with Elder Heo Gong!”
“Quickly, bring the wound medicine and the elixirs! Their condition is critical!”
“Move Mu Jin Sasuk over here!”
“Damn it, where are the bandages? What are the medics doing?”
Urgent and desperate voices erupted from all directions, amplifying the chaos within the hall.
In contrast, the disciples of Hwasan remained deathly silent, as if the life had been drained out of them.
After a suffocating silence, Gwak Hoe finally spoke in a dazed tone.
“What do you mean by that, Lord Tang? You can’t save him? That can’t be true.”
“…”
“Are you saying that Baek Cheon Sasuk is… going to die?”
It was a foolish question, but Tang Gunak couldn’t blame Gwak Hoe. He could only open his eyes, which had been tightly shut, and let out a deep sigh.
Gwak Hoe’s voice grew more desperate as he struggled to find the words.
“Wait, Lord! It’s just a bit of burnt flesh, isn’t it? I know treating burns isn’t easy, but we’re talking about Baek Cheon Sasuk! Someone as skilled as him can’t be… just…”
As he cried out, Gwak Hoe instinctively glanced at Baek Cheon, but the sight of him left Gwak Hoe speechless. He inhaled sharply, unable to finish his sentence.
The words ‘just a bit’ felt absurd even as they left Gwak Hoe’s mouth. It was because Baek Cheon was as strong as he was that he was still clinging to life. Had an ordinary person suffered such burns, they would have perished long ago.
“If it were truly just a flesh wound… you’d be right.”
“…What?”
Tang Gunak slowly shook his head.
“But Vice Sect Leader’s wounds are far more severe. The burns on the surface may not seem so grave, as you said. The real issue lies in the internal burns.”
“…”
“If it were only the skin that was damaged, I could have used deep acupuncture to channel energy and stimulate his recovery. But now, the areas where the needle could work are completely burned, making it nearly impossible to draw out any life force. In fact, it’s doubtful whether he has any energy left at all.”
Everyone fought the urge to cover their ears, wanting to shut out this grim reality. Instead, they forced themselves to look at Baek Cheon, lying on the bed.
“The fact that he’s still breathing is a miracle. As a physician… there’s nothing more I can do. I’m sorry.”
He’s going to die.
Baek Cheon is going to die.
“Ah…”
A hollow sigh escaped Baek Sang’s lips.
He had never imagined this. They had often spoken of risking their lives, of facing death at any moment, but he had never truly believed that death would come so close, so suddenly.
No, more precisely, Baek Sang had believed that Baek Cheon was the one person who wouldn’t die.
Even if they all perished, Baek Cheon would always remain standing. That was who he was – a person who shouldn’t die.
‘This can’t be.’
Yes, Baek Cheon was not supposed to die. He couldn’t allow this man, who had been so steadfast, to pass away so meaninglessly.
At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through Baek Sang’s mind, and he began to tremble as he frantically searched his robes.
“You said it’s an issue of energy, right? Here! We can replenish his energy with this, can’t we?”
He hastily pulled something out and thrust it towards Tang Gunak.
“This is one of the last remaining Purple Mist Pills [자소단(紫霄丹) – jasodan] from Hwasan! I received it from the Sect Leader. We can use this to boost his energy and continue the treatment…”
“It’s no use,”
Tang Gunak said, his eyes filled with regret as he looked at both Baek Sang and the elixir in his hand. Baek Sang’s face twisted with desperation as he cried out.
“W-Why not? We have the elixir right here!”
“Purple Mist Pill is an elixir that combines the extreme yin and extreme yang energies to achieve balance, a state of harmony.”
“…”
“Vice Sect Leader’s body has already absorbed as much of the elixir’s energy as it can. If we try to infuse more, it will simply overflow.”
“But you said he doesn’t have enough energy! Now you’re saying it will overflow? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Tang Gunak let out another long sigh. Although it might seem like they were talking about the same issue, they were actually discussing two different problems. But right now, the disciples of Hwasan couldn’t understand that.
Or rather, more accurately…
“I understand that you don’t want to accept it.”
“…”
“But there’s nothing more that can be done. I’m sorry. This is all happening because of my own shortcomings.”
Tang Gunak bowed deeply to the disciples of Hwasan. Of course, it wasn’t really his fault. They knew this, and so did Tang Gunak.
Yet, he lowered his head because he fully understood what Baek Cheon and his impending death meant to Hwasan’s disciples.
“Ah…”
Ironically, this gesture from Tang Gunak made the harsh reality even clearer to Hwasan’s disciples. The fact that their Vice Sect Leader, Baek Cheon, was about to take his final breath.
Faced with this terrifying and overwhelming reality, no one dared to speak.
But suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the silence like thunder.
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
“Sahyeong!”
“Move!”
Jo Geol, pushing past startled Gwak Hoe, limped towards Baek Cheon with determination. Tang Gunak stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“What do you intend to do?”
“If he’s lacking energy, then we just need to give him more, right?”
“It’s no use. Vice Sect Leader ‘s body is so weak that it can’t even hold onto the energy we give him. It’s like pouring water into a bottomless pit.”
Tang Gunak firmly tried to dissuade Jo Geol, but Jo Geol glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
“Lord Tang, you may know medicine well, but it seems you don’t understand the logic.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“The way to fill a bottomless pit is to pour in more water than can escape! Damn it, if the water’s going to leak out, we just need to keep pouring it in faster!”
Tang Gunak bit his lip hard.
“But then… the vessel will break.”
“That’s something we won’t know until we try, isn’t it?”
“Listen to me, Jo Geol Dojang…”
“Move aside. If you stand in my way any longer, even you, Lord Tang, will not be spared!”
A fierce, murderous aura radiated from Jo Geol’s entire being. Tang Gunak closed his eyes tightly, knowing full well what was driving Jo Geol.
He understood that Jo Geol wasn’t ignorant of the risks. He wasn’t acting out of foolishness. Jo Geol knew that what he was doing might bring Baek Cheon’s death even sooner. But he simply couldn’t stand by and accept this death without doing anything.
In the face of such desperate resolve, what could words possibly achieve?
“L-Lord Tang…”
Baek Sang, who had almost crawled to Tang Gunak’s side, grabbed the hem of his robe.
“P-Please… save him, Lord Tang. Please save my Sahyeong…”
“…”
“No, this can’t happen. Sahyeong can’t die like this. If you want someone to die, let it be me instead. But please, save him… Save my Sahyeong!”
“Please, calm down…”
“No! Damn it! He’s not someone who should die here like this!”
No one could do anything to calm Baek Sang, who was on the verge of collapse. Eventually, Yoon Jong and Hye Yeon managed to stand and pull him back, holding him as he shook with desperation.
“Sasuk…”
“Siju…”
Baek Sang, his focus lost in despair, suddenly turned his gaze towards Baek Cheon, who lay lifeless on the bed, and erupted in a torrent of grief. His eyes were filled with a boiling mix of anger and resentment.
“That damn fool, damn it all! I knew he’d end up like this one day! A man with a body that’s already broken, always throwing himself into danger like a rag – of course this would happen eventually! What could possibly be so important? What could be more important than his own life?”
“…Sasuk…”
“Sahyeong, answer me. Now that you’re like this, are you satisfied? Are you proud of yourself for keeping that damn promise? You idiot, answer me!”
“Sasuk, your words are too…”
Yoon Jong clenched his teeth, trying to shout back but then stopped, stunned. Baek Sang’s face was soaked with tears, streaming uncontrollably.
“You… you damn fool… you idiot…”
“…”
Baek Sang crumbled to the ground, his body trembling with silent sobs.
The disciples of Hwasan began to lower their heads one by one. Though their expressions varied, they all shared the same heavy heart under the banner of Hwasan.
Perhaps Baek Cheon had known his fate all along. It might have been he himself who took those steps towards this inevitable conclusion.
He had done it to save even one more life, to prove that the words he had spoken were not mere empty promises.
Yet, no one here could feel pride in Baek Cheon’s sacrifice. They could not applaud his noble and grand choice, nor could they celebrate it.
“Lord Tang…”
Hye Yeon, with trembling hands, clasped them together and looked at Tang Gunak. Though he shared the same sentiment as the disciples of Hwasan, as someone from another sect, it fell upon him to handle this difficult situation. He had to be the one to step forward, to continue searching for a solution that seemed impossible.
“Is there truly… no other way?”
Tang Gunak spoke bitterly.
“Vice Sect Leader is in a state of both energy deficiency and excess.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“The Yang energy from the Lord of the Sun Palace is overflowing within his body, as if he was poisoned by an extreme toxin.”
“…”
“That energy is burning up Vice Sect Leader’s internal energy, leaving his body as dry as a desert. If he were to consume more Purple Mist Pills, the Yang energy would only consume that as well, further harming his body.”
“That’s… impossible…”
Hye Yeon’s face turned pale.
“Then, if there were an extreme Yin elixir…”
“It would be the same,”
Tang Gunak said, shaking his head.
“When a blazing fire meets ice-cold water, it doesn’t simply extinguish. Instead, it momentarily flares up. Vice Sect Leader’s body is too weak to endure even that momentary shock. His body is like a house that has been completely burned down. No matter how you try to extinguish the fire, the house will inevitably collapse.”
Hye Yeon looked at Baek Cheon with a stunned expression.
Now, he fully understood the gravity of the situation. As Tang Gunak had explained, there was no remedy for Baek Cheon’s condition.
“Amitabha…”
All Hye Yeon could do was chant in a trembling voice, desperately invoking the Buddha.
‘Isn’t this too cruel?’
Without Baek Cheon’s self-sacrificing strike, it would have been impossible to break through the Lord of the Sun Palace and open a path. But the cost of that victory was far too terrible.
Step.
In the midst of the despairing atmosphere, someone quietly approached Baek Cheon’s bedside. Neither Gwak Hoe nor Tang Gunak could stop this person.
It was Yu Iseol.
She slowly walked over and stood by Baek Cheon’s side. Gazing down at him, she closed her eyes.
– Then, Samae can protect me.
Yu Iseol had failed to protect him. Instead, it was Baek Cheon who had protected her and the other disciples of Hwasan , despite his own broken body.
What does it mean to be strong? What is the purpose of martial arts?
A soft voice, almost like a whisper, escaped into the stillness.
“This can’t be, Sahyeong.”
Everyone held their breath.
“It can’t end like this. You still have to give me another chance.”
“…”
“Please.”
Yu Iseol’s voice trembled at the end. She, who had never wavered even when facing death, was now trembling. This unexpected sight shattered the last thread of composure among the disciples of Hwasan.
Thud.
Someone collapsed on the spot, while others began to shed silent tears.
“Damn it…”
Even Jo Geol couldn’t contain his rising emotions, as he buried his face in his hands.
A deep sense of helplessness washed over everyone.
What is the point of becoming stronger? What is the purpose of pursuing a righteous path if, in the end, you cannot protect what truly matters?
How can one possibly endure such profound loss and unbearable pain?
“Damn it!”
Bang!
Jo Geol slammed his fist into the ground, his teeth clenched in frustration. But just then, an unexpected voice broke the heavy silence.
“I’d like to hear more details.”
Tang Gunak flinched in surprise and turned his gaze.
“Elder!”
“Sasuk!”
“You shouldn’t be getting up, Sasuk!”
Heo Gong, who had been lying on the bed like a corpse, had propped himself up and was now looking in their direction with calm, serene eyes, as tranquil as a still lake.
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